I Know What You Did Last summer - Twilight Crossover
by TeamCarlisle
Summary: Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie become victim to a vengeful stalker after they accidentally hit a man while driving on a dark road and try to cover up the accident. They receive frightening letters telling them that their crime was seen. Emmett later gets run over by a man with a large hook and long, dark jacket who doesn't stop there as he continues to terrorize the 4 of them.
1. Croaker Queen Pagaent

Fireworks shot off in the sky and festive tunes filled the air to celebrate the country's birthday. July fourth weekend was upon the quaint beach town of Southport, North Carolina and young people everywhere covered the streets adjacent to the rows of fishing boats that overlooked the ocean.

Carlisle Cullen, Esme Platt and Emmett McCarty stood up in the balcony clapping as they cheered on Emmett's girlfriend Rosalie Hale as she competed in the annual Croaker Queen Beauty Pageant to name the town's most beautiful, goal-oriented young woman.

The host had a booming voice. "Let's welcome back the six finalists back onto the stage. Come on back out girls!"

Rosalie was the third to enter via stage left, donning a black one-piece bathing suit and heels that accented her divine figure perfectly. She smiled and placed her hands behind her back as she took her place in the middle of the small group of beauty queens.

"Look at her," Esme gushed, "She was born for this."

Carlisle looked over at his friend, who raised his eyebrows.

"Dude, she does these exercises to make her boobs pump up," Emmett said with laugh, making Carlisle chuckle.

"Guys!" Esme scolded, leaning forward, "I'm on sexist overload as it is. Kill the commentary." She smiled at Carlisle, who wore a guilty expression and then leaned an elbow on his shoulder.

The host rattled off a question as Rosalie stepped forward.

"In the spirit of Mother Theresa, what will be your contribution to your community and the world at large?" He handed the microphone over and Rosalie smiled to the crowd as she accepted it.

"Well, Bob," she began, "At summer's end I plan to move to New York City where I'll pursue a career as a serious actress. It is my goal to entertain the world through artistic expression. Through art I shall serve my country." Rosalie smiled wide and the crowd began to cheer and clap.

Carlisle turned to Esme and gave her a look. "Do you feed into all this?"

"Work it babe!" Emmett called over the ledge of the balcony, cupping his hands by his mouth. "Look, man, they're eating it up. She's incredible."

Rosalie continued to smile, taking an extra look up into the balcony for a brief second and then handed the microphone back to the host. She stepped back, allowing the other girls to give their responses one by one.

The pageant had been long and this was the final question that would determine the winner... that and their choice of bathing suit and shoes. The truth was that Rosalie felt no butterflies in her stomach. She stood proudly amongst the other beautiful competitors an waited patiently as Bob unfolded an envelop given to him by the panel of judges.

"This year's Croaker Queen is..." There was a dramatic pause, "Ms. Rosalie Hale!"

The crowd erupted into celebration as confetti and balloons began to fall from the ceiling. Festive music began to play again Rosalie stepped forward with the same big smile and waved to the audience as she accepted her crown and a bouquet of flowers.

"Yeah!" Emmett hollered from the balcony, "Yeah baby! That's my girl!" He stomped his feet and jumped around, pumping his fist in the air as he continued to cheer.

Carlisle and Esme clapped wildly for their friend and laughed at Emmett's over the top celebration. Even Bob glanced up at the nearly empty overhang and grinned wide at Emmett as he showed praise for his significant other.

Rosalie smiled up at him and continued to wave as the pageant came to a close...

An hour later the madness of the event began to die down and Rosalie linked her arm through Esme's as they wandered down a dock that lead from a crowded beachside restaurant toward a band that played by the water.

There was barely room to walk, as the crowd of teens and twenty-somethings jumped around to the tunes of the small rock band.

"How's my hair?" Rosalie asked, glancing over at Esme as they made their way shoulder-to-shoulder through the crowd.

"Hurricane proof," she teased, making the two of them laugh.

"Hey, it's all about the hair," Rosalie joked back, "Don't forget that when you're some hotshot lawyer some day. Those people think it's all about brains and ability and completely ignore the 'do."

"So the 'do is vital," Esme confirmed, "Got it."

"Hey Esme," a boy popped out of nowhere with a tray and a single shot of liquor on it, "I bought you a shooter on the house."

"Oh... thanks James, but you know what I have this mental block with these things," she said to him, "I'm going to have to pass."

"Look why don't you let me take you out before you leave town?" he suggested, "You know a little bon voyage type of thing."

"Oh, um..." Esme turned to Rosalie for some help, who immediately eyed the sky at their awkward interaction. "You know, I... I don't know think so James."

"Look, we've been friends since forever. You can't just leave without a farewell, right?"

Before Esme could say another word Emmett slid in and grabbed the shot, boxing out James from the conversation as he did so.

"A toast to us!" Emmett raised the glass high above his head, "To our last summer of immature, adolescent decadence!" He downed the liquor and ran a hand across his mouth with a smile.

"Somebody's buzzed," Rosalie said with a quick laugh.

Emmett smiled back and then turned to James, who stood just behind him. He smiled for a second, and then took both of his hands and shoved him back a few feet. "Take a hike..."

James stumbled back into another partygoer and hesitated for a moment before angrily trying to retaliate against Emmett, who towered over him.

Carlisle was approaching the three of them and saw the fight about to break out, and so he hurried down to step in between Emmett and James.

"Easy!" he called out, putting an hand on either guy's chest as they reached over him to try swinging at one another. "Easy, hey!" Carlisle called out more forcefully, causing both of them to back down; Emmett with a smile.

"Hey, man, I'm just taking care of your girl like I promised," Emmett said to Carlisle. He turned away from James, who stood huffing and puffing looking as if he could take another swing at any moment.

"Thanks... buddy," Carlisle said, still attempting to diffuse the situation. He saw Rosalie pull Emmett toward her and then turned to see if James was okay. "Let's just get out of here," he said to his friends, and then took Esme's hand, "Okay?"

She nodded and felt bad about the altercation between Emmett and James.

"Bye James," she said a with a guilty wave, and then turned away as he continued to scowl.

"Let's go down to Dawson's Beach," Rosalie said to Emmett. The two of them shared a kiss and Emmett nodded as he twirled the keys to his BMW.

Carlisle and Esme followed close behind and hurried to the car, sliding into the back seat as Emmett revved the engine and put the car in drive.


	2. Ghost Stories

The four of them found a spot on the empty beach near an old boat that had sat dormant on the sand for years. Carlisle and Emmett started a fire and they all cozied up next to it telling urban legend-style ghost stories.

"So the boy and girl are parked on the side of the road, right," Carlisle told them, using his hands to add unintentional animation, "And they hear on the radio that this lunatic killer has escaped-"

"You're telling it wrong," Emmett interrupted, taking a swig from a bottle of rum.

"Shh!" Carlisle said with a grin, "So, the news report says he had this long, sharp hook for a hand. The girl gets all scared, and she wants to go home. The boy is a little pissed, he peels out his car and they leave."

"No, that's not it," Emmett argued again, "Okay, the boy goes for help because their car stalled and the girl stays in the car and she hears this scratching sound on the roof of the car."

"It's not a scratching sound," Rosalid told him, inching her lips close to his, "It's a dripping sound."

"No," he said again, "It's a scratching sound because the boy's been hung from a tree limb and it's his feet scratching on the roof of the car."

"No he's been decapitated and it's the blood from his severed neck that's dripping."

"No, he wasn't decapitated," Esme chimed in, shaking her head, "He was gutted with the hook." She smiled, making both Emmett and Rosalie grin. "Well, that's the way I heard it." She looked at Carlisle.

"Look, you're all wrong," Carlisle protested, "The boy and girl get home and they find the lunatic's hook in the car door. That's the original story. That's how it really happened."

"None of it _really_ happened," Emmett told him, "It's a bullshit ghost story to begin with."

"No, it's not," he went on, "It's true."

"Yeah, I don't think so Carlisle," Rosalie smiled at him and shook her head.

"I swear."

"Please," Esme looked over at him skeptically, "It's a fictional story to warn young girls of the dangers of having premarital sex."

"Well actually, honey," Carlisle smiled at her, "It's American folklore. All of those stories usually originate from some type of real-life incident."

Rosalie looked up at Emmett and scooted a little bit closer to him, and Esme sighed and looked at Carlisle.

He stared across the fire at his two friends, and then finally at Esme before cracking a wide smile.

...

Esme looked around the beach having listened to Carlisle when he originally asked her to close her eyes.

"Carlisle!" she called out loud, "Where did you go?"

Somewhere off in the distance she heard Rosalie's loud laughter, but she and Emmett had taken a walk down the empty beach in the opposite direction.

"Carlisle!" Esme called out again, before screaming as she felt him rush up behind her, grabbing her around the waist. The two of them began to laugh and she took his hand so they could walk some more. "You don't really believe those stories, do you?"

"They're true," he assured her with a laugh, pulling her down to sit in the sand with him.

Esme smiled at him, keeping her fingers interlocked with his, "I'm going to miss you."

"You don't have to," he said, tucking a hair behind her ear, "You can always ditch the Boston thing and come to New York with me."

"Well we can't all sit in the village coffee house on our lap tops," she teased, toying with the front of his shirt.

"See." Carlisle smiled, "Nobody gets me the way you do."

"I understand your pain."

He grinned back at her and Esme's smile faded.

"I hate this," she claimed, shaking her head, "I hate this. You're going to go away and you're going to fall for this black wearing, tattoo covered, head shaving, body piercing philosophy student."

"That sounds attractive," Carlisle joked.

"I'll never see you again."

"Hey," he softened his voice, "That's not true. Our relationship is going to last. Distance doesn't matter."

"Yeah?" Esme sighed and looked down.

Carlisle placed a hand on her face and she looked back up before edging forward to meet his lips with her own. She removed the light shall that covered the tank top she had underneath and continued to kiss him.

"Are you sure?" he asked her.

Esme nodded and Carlisle resumed their make-out session as she gently pulled him on top of her on their quiet nook on the beach.

...

Rosalie helped a stumbling Emmett back toward their meeting spot on the beach and tossed his keys to Carlisle as he and Esme walked hand in hand toward their friends.

"Give me my keys," Emmett demanded through glossy eyes.

"You're trashed, pal," Carlisle reminded him with a grin. He glanced up toward the empty parking lot at their lone vehicle.

"Nobody drives my car but me," Emmett went on.

Rosalie pulled his face toward hers and kissed him. "Come sit in the back with me. We can do this on the ride." She kissed him again and Emmett smiled before pulling away and pointing back at Carlisle.

"Nobody drives my car but me, you got that?" he repeated through drunken laughter.

"Loud and clear," Carlisle replied with a smile.

Esme looked at him with a grin and he kissed her on the cheek before escorting her to the passenger seat.

Emmett and Rosalie scampered into the back, fumbling around before Emmett finally got himself adjusted with the bottle of rum on his lap.

"Jeez, Em," she huffed, trying to adjust despite his sloppy antics.

Carlisle got in the driver's seat and closed the door before starting up the BMW and heading away from the beach. He linked his hand through Esme's and they exchanged a smile as they headed back down the windy road the overlooked the ocean.


	3. The Accident

Soft music played on the radio and Esme let her thumb dance over the top of Carlisle's hand as they continued with their mild embrace as he drove.

"Okay, what the hell is this crap?" Emmett asked, lunging forward to change the radio station.

Carlisle looked over at him and felt his hand separate from Esme's as Emmett punched a button and a hard rock song began to play in place of the previous one.

"Yeah!" Emmett jumped up and hung out through the open sunroof and put both of his hands in the air, shouting out loud and pumping his fists.

Carlisle struggled to keep his eyes on the road with Emmett's wild antics and his legs kept bumping into Carlisle's right shoulder with even the slightest bend in the road.

Rosalie put a hand on her forehead and leaned against the window as she shook her head. She mumbled something under her breath and knew there was no way to call him back.

Emmett took another swig from his half empty bottle and then scowled as he felt it drop out of his hand.

Carlisle jumped as the bottle crashed into his lap, sending liquor all over his clothes in the front seat.

"Emmett!" Rosalie shouted.

"What's wrong with you?" Carlisle finally called up, looking up, down and then back at the road as Esme reached to get the rum bottle off of his lap.

"Watch out!" Emmett's voice bellowed through the night air and everything froze.

Carlisle's eyes widened as he saw a dark figure bounce on the hood of the car with a sickening thud before flying over the top of it. He hit the breaks, sending the car squealing and whipping around in a complete circle before finally coming to a halt in the middle of the dark, windy road.

The four of them sat in silence for a moment, struck with awe and Emmett slowly climbed all the way back in the vehicle holding his face.

"Emmett, you're bleeding," Rosalie said, putting a hand gently on his face.

Carlisle and Esme snapped out of their daze and whipped around to check out their friend.

Emmett wiped blood from his face and looked down at his bloody, white shirt. He paused for a moment. "It's not mine."

"What was that?" Rosalie asked in a panic. She looked out the front windshield prompting Emmett to change moods.

"Damn it, Carlisle, my freakin' car!" he yelled, being the first to swing open the door to head out onto the street. Emmett rushed to the front of the car and right away noticed the dented fender and broken headlight. He whipped around as Carlisle joined him in the road. "Can't you see where you're going?"

"It came out of nowhere, I didn't see it," Carlisle yelled back. He shook his head, "You dropped your bottle, I-"

"A dog couldn't have done that," Rosalie said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, well a deer could," Emmett said angrily.

"Where is it?" Esme asked, looking around.

"What?" Rosalie asked her, shaking with adrenaline.

"If it was a dear then where is it?" she asked again.

"Maybe it ran off," Carlisle suggested.

"Should we find it?" Rosalie asked, "I hope we didn't kill it."

"Screw that, let's go," Emmett said angrily and began his march back to the car.

Esme ran up a few feet. "Oh my God." She bent down and picked up a blood, black boot.

Carlisle felt his chest grow tight and he breathed in heavily. "No way."

Rosalie's jaw dropped and Esme tossed the boot down.

"No!" Emmett called out, "There's no way."

"I didn't see it," Carlisle repeated.

Emmett hurried to the trunk and whipped it open, finding a pair of flashlights he kept for emergencies.

"Carlisle." He tossed him one, and then grabbed Rosalie by the hand and pulled her with him. "Check that side!"

"Okay," Carlisle said, reaching for Esme. The two of them made their way along the side of the dark road before Esme let out a scream.

Emmett and Rosalie rushed up to join them and they all stood, staring down at the motionless body of a man in the street. His face was covered in blood but he wore a pair of fisherman's overalls.

"He looks dead," Carlisle said.

"Check his pulse," Emmett ordered.

"No way."

"You're the one who ramped him!"

"Just do it, Carlisle." Esme said, pleading with her eyes.

Carlisle inched over and tried the man's wrist and then neck. He squatted by him for a moment before raising his eyes to Esme. "I think he's dead."

"Shit!" Emmett yelled to the sky.

"This is manslaughter," Carlisle said.

"It's my car, they'll nail my ass," Emmett said.

"That's not true," Rosalie said, through developing tears.

Emmett walked back over to her. "Are you kidding me? Look at me, I'm drunk as shit!"

"We'll call the police. We'll tell them the truth. They'll believe us."

"I say we get the hell out of here."

"No way are you crazy?" Esme asked, feeling her voice begin to shake. "If there's some him on the car then there is some of the car on him. You're looking at a hit and run."

"Then we dump the body," Emmett said.

Esme shook her head. "I won't have any part of it."

"Look just pretend we were never here," Rosalie urged, beginning to come on board with Emmett's plan.

Emmett continued and looked over the railing down toward the water in the distance. "If we get him out off the dock they won't find him for weeks."

"The currents are strong," Carlisle said quietly.

Esme turned to him in disbelief and he lifted his eyes slowly to meet hers. She shook her head again.

"Listen to yourselves," she contested, "No! We are going to the police!"

"We don't have time for this!" Emmett called out, "We have to move fast."

"This is manslaughter," Carlisle repeated, "We're going to fry no matter who takes the fault."

"Think about this Esme," Emmett pleaded desperately. "College... your scholarship... the guy is already dead. If we go to the police we're dead too."

"Esme, I don't have the family or the money to get me out of this," Carlisle said. He looked at her more desperately than Emmett did, and she could see the guilt in his expression.

The sound of a car's engine in the distance made all of them freeze and Emmett cussed. He looked at Carlisle. "Help me move him!"

The two of them grabbed the man by his arms and legs and got him behind the guard rail as a truck rounded a bend with its headlights shining on them. Rosalie trotted over to where Carlisle and Emmett were leaned over the railing.

"They're slowing down!" she called out.

"It's James," Esme recognized the vehicle and looked over her shoulder at the three of them before approaching the truck.

"Hey Esme," James greeted, "What do you have car trouble?"

"Um..." she looked at the banged up BMW. "Yeah, Emmett just got sick and we're trying to keep the upchuck out of the new car."

James looked in his rearview mirror and eyed the vehicle. "Doesn't look so new anymore." He gave a sinister laugh, "Daddy's gonna be mad."

"Yeah, don't drink and drive."

Carlisle hurried up beside Esme. "What can we do for you James?"

"You can wipe that my-shit-don't-stink grin off your face," James said, letting his smile fade.

Esme looked over at Carlisle and he nodded. "Okay, James. Will do. Have a good night."

James paused and narrowed his eyes. "You almost got that rich boy act down Carlisle."

He nodded. "We'll be seeing you James."

"Yup." He stared at Carlisle for an extra second before nodding at Esme. "Goodnight Esme."

The couple stepped back and let James by. He glanced out the window as Emmett did his best to portray that he was vomiting over the railing and Rosalie rubbed his back. When the truck passed by, Emmett straightened up and glared toward the taillights attempting to get the leftover blood off his face and clothing.

Carlisle reluctantly helped him get the body into the trunk of the BMW before the four of them got into the car and headed down to the beach by a popular fishing dock to get rid of the evidence.


	4. Buried

The air was thick; muggy and the smell of sea water hung in the air. What had started off as a peaceful night of celebration was about to end in more than just tragedy. It was a life-changing moment that would define the character of each of them forever.

Emmett and Carlisle carried the man toward the edge of the dock while Esme and Rosalie walked a few feet behind.

"We'll take him to the dock and then throw him in," Emmett instructed, huffing and puffing as they walked, "No one will find him for weeks. And by then he'll be eaten by crabs and small fish... maybe we'll get lucky with a shark."

Carlisle let out a deep breath as they put the body down and stood up to face each other.

"Ready?" Emmett asked him.

"Wait!" Esme shouted.

"What?"

"Should we check his wallet so we know who he is?" Her eyes pleaded with Emmett, and there was a part of her that prayed he would change his mind about getting rid of the body.

"Why?" Emmett went on.

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head, "Just to know."

"I don't think I want to know," Rosalie said quietly.

"Look, let's just pretend he's an escaped mental patient with a hook for a hand and we're doing everybody a favor. Carlisle, help me." He stood up tall and looked at his friend.

Carlisle felt Esme's hand clutch his forearm and suddenly he felt frozen. "I don't think I can Emmett."

"Shit! We agreed!"

"It's not too late," Esme pleaded.

"Shut up!" Emmett bellowed, prompting Carlisle to step between them.

"Everyone needs to calm down." He glared at Emmett. A part of him wanted to recant his agreement to their plan, but he felt by now there was no going back.

"Damn it already! I'll do it!" Rosalie intervened, stepping toward the edge of the dock opposite Emmett. She squatted by the man's head and looked across to wait for her boyfriend's go-ahead cue. Before he could do or say anything, the stranger's arm suddenly reached up toward Rosalie prompting a loud scream. His fingers coiled around the Croaker Queen crown on her head and Emmett pushed him off the dock and into the water in a panic.

"My crown!" Rosalie called out, "He's got my crown!"

"No!" Emmett shouted into the sky before diving off the edge of the dark into the black water.

"Emmett!" Rosalie hollered after him as Carlisle and Esme leaned over peering into the water. The three of them watched as he disappeared beneath the small, choppy waves.

Emmett swam down into the depths of the water trying as hard as he could to see something; anything. He pushed through rows of seaweed before finally catching a glimpse of a figure wading near the bottom.

He used his arms to push through the water until he reached the body and then lunged for the shiny piece of metal that clung to his hand.

Emmett gritted his teeth as he began to run out of breath. He felt as if his lungs would burst from holding his breath and from the adrenaline that accompanied the events of the night. He pulled at the crown for several seconds before finally managing to break it free. At the last second the man's eyes snapped open and Emmett screamed as he began kicking his feet and pumping his arms to rush to the surface.

His shirt began to rush up, covering his face as he struggled to swim in his baggy clothes. The thought of sharks suddenly re-entered his mind as he clawed his way up higher and higher. Emmett hoped when he got there he would still hold the crown in his hand, because he knew if he dropped it there was no going back. They could easily be caught by simply linking the crown to Rosalie's Croaker Queen victory.

With a long, loud gasp he emerged, breaking through the surface and began to breath heavily in and out as he paddled to the dock in a frenzy.

Carlisle reached in to help him up and Emmett sat for a brief second before pushing himself up onto his feet and forcefully slapping the crown into Rosalie's hand. He glared at her for a moment before storming off toward the car ahead of the rest of them.

"We are never _ever_ to speak of this again," he said as he marched at the front of the group. "It is now a future therapy bill, agreed?" He whipped around when no one spoke. "Rosalie!"

She looked down and held the crown between her hands in front of her. "I won't say anything."

Emmett turned his attention to Carlisle next.

Carlisle knew there was no way to go back after what they had done. "Alright."

"Esme?" Emmett asked.

She nodded her head slightly.

"Say it out loud," he urged.

"Yeah..." Esme said meekly, "Okay."

Emmett's jaw was clenched but he seemed satisfied. Stressed plagued his features and he breathed in heavily for a few minutes and wrung out his soaked shirt before sliding into the driver's seat of the car. Rosalie slowly made her way to the passenger's side leaving Carlisle and Esme standing outside the car for a moment.

He clicked open the door to let her in, but she looked lifeless.

"It'll be okay," Carlisle said, though the regretful tremble of his voice let Esme know that he didn't believe what he had just said. She turned and looked at him for a second before shaking her head and getting into the back seat.

Carlisle waited a moment and closed his eyes, only getting into the car when he heard Emmett rev the engine.

The dark blue BMW cruised away from the dock, leaving the stranger's body behind in the ocean and their secret buried beneath the surface.


	5. I Know What You Did Last Summer

**One Year Later...**

Esme sat in her nearly empty dorm room upon the closure of the summer session at Duke University. She glanced over at the bare mattresses of the bunk beds that she and her roommate had called home for nearly a year.

"Are you ready?" a peppy voice asked, prompting Esme to turn around from where she sat at her former computer desk.

"I changed my mind," Esme said to her roommate, "I'm not going."

"Esme... you're going _home_ for the rest of the summer," her friend told her with a big smile of perfectly straight teeth, "And you're going to get a tan, do you hear me?"

She smiled and took a deep breath as her roommate continued to coax her.

"Let's go."

Esme stood up and followed her roommate to her car. On the ride back to Southport she tried to be positive and appreciate the summer's warmth, the freedom that would surely accompany the next few months and the fact that she would be back in her own bed at home with her mother.

A part of her managed to relax for a moment, though when her roommate's car cruised down the coast around the same bend in the road where she, Carlisle and the others had hit and killed a man the summer before, all of the dread she had been carrying poured back into her body at once.

Esme closed her eyes and tried not to have the same flashbacks that had been reoccurring for the last year. She hadn't taken the drive down that road since the night of the accident and now that she was there the old feelings hit her hard.

She felt her roommate look over but neither of them said anything to one another until the car was pulling into Esme's driveway.

"Remember," the friendly young woman said as Esme hopped out of the car. "Sun and fun!"

"Yeah." Esme smiled and waved as she grabbed her bags, "Thank you for the ride."

"See you in the fall." Her roommate backed out of the quaint, beachside home with a wave and sped off down the street.

"Esme!" Her mother burst out of the front door with her arms out wide. "Welcome home, dear."

Esme felt more guilt wash over her and she hugged her mother tightly before the two of them went back inside to catch up.

Unpacking was the easy part. Esme got some time to herself and was able to try guarding all the heavy feelings that went along with being back in Southport. Nothing felt right, or normal; even her room felt foreign. She had hoped once she got back in and settled that she would at least find comfort at her own house.

 _Maybe in time_ , she thought.

"Esme!" her mother's voice called up the stairs, "Dinner's ready!"

She closed her eyes and sighed. It wasn't that she didn't want to have dinner with her mother, but the one-on-one time would surely lead to questions that Esme wasn't prepared to answer.

Prior to July Fourth the year before Esme had been a peppy, friendly, straight-A student. Now, she knew she looked tired and pale. Her grades were slipping, which is why she had decided to take the summer's first session at Duke... that and the fact that she didn't want to return to Southport.

With a sigh, Esme slowly opened her door and trudged down the steps and into the kitchen.

Her mother smiled as she entered the room, though Esme knew her mannerisms well. The smile was accompanied by concerned eyes and a strained jaw. There was nothing she could hide from her mother.

 _Except for a murder_ , she thought.

Esme sat at the table where her plate was already set and she tried to act normal but knew it wouldn't work. She took a bite of the fish that was accompanied by a good sized portion of rice and looked out the window.

"How's the snapper?" her mother asked, prompting Esme to give a brief closed-mouth smile. "You know I really wanted mud fish but it's been a bad season."

Esme felt her shoulders sulk and she swore she could have just broken down and cried out of the blue. Her heart felt heavy, and the sights and sounds of her hometown, including her mother's voice, made her past all the more real.

"Are you on drugs?"

Esme's head snapped up and she looked at her mother wide-eyed. "What?"

"I just wanted to surprise you," Mrs. Platt went on, "I wanted an honest reaction."

"No Mom." Esme shook her head, "No... no drugs."

"Well, then what is it? I mean you look like death."

She sighed and began toying with her food. "Well, it's been a rough year."

The two of them ate in silence, and Esme knew it wasn't fair for her mother. She hoped in time the hurt and guilt would fade but so far it hadn't.

Mrs. Platt didn't push any further questions and cleared Esme's plate when there was nothing left on it. She began to do their dishes as Esme stood up.

"Oh, you got some mail," her mother informed her, re-entering the room with a white envelope. "It's not your report card, though, that came last week."

Esme felt her heart sink. "Mom, I know it looks bad but the summer session went really well." She put a hand on her forehead.

"Well, it would have to. Because according to the Dean you only have one more chance."

"It's not that serious... really." Esme stared blankly at her and accepted the envelope.

"What happened to my daughter?" Her mother asked, developing tears in the corners of her eyes. "I mean you went away and you don't call... and you don't visit." She paused and left the room, "Your father must be turning over in his grave."

Esme shut her eyes and wiped a few stray tears away before shaking her head and looking at a picture of her and her father that hung on the wall. She took in a deep breath through her nose and then opened the white envelope.

There was a small piece of white paper inside with big, block lettering centered perfectly in the middle.

Again, she felt her stomach twist in knots and her throat felt tight. Her eyes filled up with tears and she put a hand over her mouth. "Who sent this?" she called out to her mother, drying her eyes before Mrs. Platt rounded into the room. "There's no post mark or return address."

"Your guess is as good as mine. Why what does it say?"

"Nothing!" Esme hurried out of the room holding the note and rushed to her bedroom where she remained for the next several hours. She stared down at the letter and read it over and over. The message haunted her and she knew she had to talk to Rosalie in the morning. Someone knew what had happened last July Fourth and she was haunted by the anonymous letter that had been sent to her with the simple, chilling phrase: I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER!


	6. Riley Biers

Esme drove her car through the center of town where people were stringing up holiday decorations. There were flags of red, white and blue in all shapes and sizes that hung from telephone poles, street lights and buildings. The town was ready to welcome the Fourth of July in the same fashion they did every year - with parties, a beauty pageant, fireworks and fun.

There was a collection of little shops that sat by the town green - one them, called Shivers, was own by Rosalie Hale's family. She wasn't sure if Rosalie was home for the summer or still up in New York but she knew her sister Elsa would be able to give her a form of contact information.

She pulled the car into a parking space on the side of the road and headed toward the small clothing store.

A bell jingled against the door as she entered and Esme spotted Elsa giving orders almost right away.

"It's glass," the blond bombshell with thick black rimmed glasses said to a man putting a sculpture down on the counter. "Remember it breaks." Heavy sarcasm lingered in her voice and then she noticed Esme heading in her direction. "Well, well..." Elsa placed a hand on her hip. "Look what the cat dragged in."

"Elsa... hi." Esme took in a deep breath. "I was wondering if you could give me Rosalie's New York number. I need to speak with her."

"Her New York number?'

"Yeah. It's important."

"Well, fact check Esme," Elsa went, "Rosalie doesn't have a New York number. If you'd like to speak with her I suggest you head to women's fragrances, ten feet to your left."

Esme turned her head and followed Elsa's stare to where Rosalie fumbled a handful of perfumes.

"Scary isn't it?" Elsa asked with a laugh, and then went on her way to continue with the inventory that was currently taking place in the store.

Rosalie looked down the way and she stopped what she was doing. "Esme?" she asked, prompting a quick nod from her friend. "When... when did you get home?"

"Yesterday," Esme said quietly. "What happened to New York?"

"I went... for awhile and... it didn't work out." Rosalie's face looked as tired and disappointed as Esme's did.

Esme dug in her purse and removed the letter she'd received in the mail the day before. "Somebody sent this to me."

Rosalie took a second to read the message and her eyes widened. She struggled to keep her voice down. "Oh my gosh - who?"

"I don't know."

"Esme, we were so careful."

"Were we?" she asked, "Were we? What if somebody else saw us? What if somebody else was there that night?"

"Who? It's been a year," Rosalie persisted.

"I don't know," Esme repeated quietly.

The two of them turned to see Elsa attempting to eavesdrop on their conversation before she slowly disappeared into a back room.

"Has Emmett seen this?" Rosalie asked.

They shared a look and quickly headed into the street, taking the car down to the wealthiest part of town.

Emmett's house was a massive, brick estate that overlooked the ocean. The girls parked the car and waltzed over the perfectly manicured lawn toward the front door.

"Do you ever see Emmett around school?" Rosalie asked.

"It's a big campus," Esme told her with a shrug. "Are you sure he's back?"

"I saw his car the other day at the gym."

"Did you guys break up?"

Before Rosalie could answer a deep voice bellowed from above.

"Hey!" Emmett called out, "What are you two doing here?" He sported a white tank top and leaned over a balcony from the top floor of the home.

The girls stared up and Rosalie responded simply. "Hi Em."

He glared down and quickly met them by the door before escorting the two of them to the back patio to get some privacy away from his mother.

Esme showed him the note and was shocked when he reacted far differently than the two of them.

"This is nothing," he assured them firmly. "I know what you did last summer... oooooo. What a crock of shit."

"We can't just ignore it," Esme told him.

"Come on Esme," Emmett said, "You did a lot of things last summer."

She leaned back in her seat, "Yeah, well only one murder comes to mind."

"We didn't murder anybody!" he barked, and then looked over his shoulder toward his mother who talked aimlessly on the phone just inside a set of double doors that lead out to where they sat.

"He was still alive when we threw him in the water!" Esme shot back.

Rosalie stepped between them. "Do we have to rehash it, it was an accident! The guy was in the middle of the road."

"His name was Riley Biers," Esme said.

"Who?" Emmett asked.

"Riley Biers. His body was found three weeks after we..." she failed to finish the sentence. "His body was caught in a shrimp net not far from Miller's Dock." She smiled and shook her head, hating to relive the events of that night. "I think the police called it an accidental drowning." Esme locked eyes with Emmett. "You can call it an accident all you want but he died because of us, that's certain."

Emmett backed down slightly and paused before taking a deep breath. "What about Carlisle? Have you talked to him? What does he think?"

"I haven't seen Carlisle since last summer. Last I heard he was in school up north."

"Alright... well let's suppose someone was there that night and saw us..." Emmett said, putting one foot up a bench that overlooked the water. "It's probably just some idiot screwing around." He shifted his eyes back and forth and then looked back at the girls. "James."

A light bulb seemed to go off in Esme's head and she stared at him open-mouthed for a moment. "What... James? You think?"

"Who else? He was there."

The three of them exchanged glances before Emmett gave a head nod and waved his hand. "I know where to find him."


	7. Reunions

**Snowstorms = great writing weather! :) Especially when your fiancé is playing Madden on Playstation! All the more time to write.**

The busiest part of town in the summer was right down by the marinas. Fishermen worked day and night, businesses were booming, the townspeople were prepping for a parade and getting floats ready...

Emmett pulled his car to the side of the road, finding a lucky parking space and Esme parked just a little farther down. She and Rosalie hurried to meet up with him in the dock just outside a large store that sold fresh seafood.

"You two stay here," he said, putting his hands up.

"What are you going to do?" Rosalie asked him.

"I know what I'm doing."

Emmett walked coolly toward the produce store that smelled of fresh fish and almost immediately spotted James loading up barrels of fish into ice.

James glanced up and a smirk covered his face. He shook his head and stood up tall, removing his gloves.

"You know," he said, "I was just thinking to myself whatever happened to that Emmett McCarty."

"Hey James." Emmett said in a friendly tone. "Hey, can we talk for a sec... in private?"

James looked around the nearly empty place, "What this isn't private enough for you?"

He laughed with a passive shrug and shoved his hands into the pockets of jeans as James looked at him skeptically and led the way into a back room with an open view of the docks.

"Yeah... what?" James asked finally as they rounded the corner.

Emmett didn't hesitate or waste any time. He grabbed James by the collar of his shirt and slammed him hard into a brick of ice.

"Look you little shit we got your little letter!"

"What the hell are you on?"

"Don't mess with me James!" he bellowed, "You saw us that night."

"Get the hell off! Get off me!"

Emmett kept a hand on his chest and reached for an oversized hook that sat on another block of ice to the side. He lifted it so the edge touched the side of James' face and he stared into his eyes. "Look you leave us alone. I'll kill your ass, I got no problem with that."

"Oh get your hands off me!" James yelled back.

"Understand?" Emmett yelled in his face and slide the back end of the hook against his face before slamming it deep into the top of the ice block.

He released James from his grasp, who slumped down to the ground and then glared angrily as Emmett turned his back and slowly walked out of the place.

"Don't you test me!" James called after him, "I'll call the cops on your college quarterback ass!"

Emmett ignored his threats and walked back to meet the girls where they stood eagerly waiting for him to return.

"Well?" Esme asked.

"He won't bother you anymore." Emmett began to walk past them past a row of boats.

"What did you do?" Rosalie asked.

He turned around and put his hands out to the sides as he faced them again. "I scared the shit out of him, okay?"

"How?" Esme asked.

Emmett looked over her shoulder and smirked. "Well I'll be damned."

"Hey." Carlisle gave a shy wave and looked at Emmett first, and then Rosalie and then Esme.

Esme felt a rush of emotion pass through her when she saw his face and heard his voice. She wasn't sure quite how to feel.

"So, Carlisle grew up to be a fisherman huh?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Almost a year now." He pointed down the way, "I work on the boat on the end."

"That's nice." Emmett put on a pair of sunglasses. "I'm out of here. Have a good one." Without another word he turned and walked back down the street toward his car.

"I've got to get back to work," Rosalie said to Esme. She looked at Carlisle for a moment. "I'll catch a ride with Emmett. Call me, Esme. We should get together."

"Yeah, okay." Esme nodded and Rosalie smiled as she hurried after Emmett down the street.

Carlisle and Esme stood staring at each other before he finally spoke.

"Do you have a minute?" he asked.

She nodded. "We... we should talk."

On their walk down toward his boat, Esme explained everything about the letter and showed it to him.

"So, you think James sent it?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know," Esme admitted, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Emmett seems to, but I don't know."

"Well... you know how James feels about you guys."

"Yeah."

Carlisle took off the pair of gloves he was wearing for work and leaned an arm on the railing of the dock. "So... how's school?" He half-smiled at her and Esme managed a grin.

"So..." she dodged the question. "You're a fisherman."

"Prophecy fulfilled right?" Carlisle sighed. "I've become my father."

"I thought you didn't know your dad."

"He worked the boats," he explained, "That I do know about him."

Esme nodded and saw the disappointment on his face. She knew it hurt him when he spoke of his father, and just the same that he wasn't pursuing his dream to go to medical school.

"Look, um..." Carlisle took in a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry for everything. I know you probably hold me responsible... for what happened last summer."

"I don't hold you responsible." Esme said right away. "No... no I'm responsible for my own actions and I don't blame you." The next words killed her to say, as they were only half true. "But I don't think I can know you anymore either."

Carlisle felt like Esme had hit him the chest with a hammer. He felt his throat tighten and Esme went to reach out to touch his arm but pulled back and shook her head, quickly spinning around and rushing down the dock away from him.

Seeing Esme that day had caught him off-guard, but he watched her go and felt like his heart had been ripped out all over again.


	8. First Blood

James threw a collection of crabs into pots of boiling water and looked over his shoulder in the steamy kitchen of the shop. His shift was coming to a close and night had fallen, but he knew he had to finish cooking up the crabs in order for them to be shipped down to a popular restaurant named Ollie's for a night of festivities.

"Like I can ever enjoy a night out around here," he mumbled to himself, wiping sweat from his forehead as he continued to throw crabs into the oversized pot.

The sound of something falling made his head snap up and he peered through the collection of steam. A part of him wanted to call out, "hello" but he decided against it and hesitated a moment before continuing on with his job.

There was another noise that caught his attention and he stopped again, knowing he was the only person left at the place. Even though he found Emmett to be utterly harmless, their quarrel earlier in the day had spooked him, and the tip of the hook he'd used to threaten him left a small gash on his cheek.

James went to reach for another crab and suddenly he saw it; a black figure barreled through the smoke and the steam and uppercutted his arm beneath James's chin. For a second he thought he'd just been hit, but then the mortal hit him in his core.

The big fisherman's hook pierced his face, beginning beneath his chin and protruded from his mouth. Blood began to pour from his mouth and everything went black.

The fisherman who attacked him wasted no time and dragged the body over the top of the pots of boiling crabs, leaving nothing but a trail of blood behind him.

...

A few blocks away from the marina Emmett pulled his BMW up into a park space by a small, ocean-side gym. Upon receiving a football scholarship he was expected to stay in shape year round and so he had been making the gym his permanent home away from home.

Emmett stepped out of the car toting a blue gym bag and headed into the place alone. He waved to the old man who sat behind the desk there and quickly hopped into his workout gear in the locker room.

No one was occupying the gym at that time of the night and while he typically brought headphones to listen to his music privately he decided to make use of the stereo system that was already set up there.

Hard rock music began to play, and Emmett stretched himself out before hitting the weights, running a fast mile on the treadmill and then eventually letting out some aggression by hitting the heavy punching bag.

He enjoyed having the place to himself on occasion and was able to get a great workout in without holding back. Eventually he stood huffing by the bag and pushed it out of his way before heading into the showers.

Emmett closed his eyes and let the water run over his body. He took his time, noting he had nowhere to go and let the hot water decorate his back.

The sound of a locker opening and closing made him stop what he was doing for a moment. He listened and heard some shuffling.

"Hello!" Emmett called out.

There was no response and so he stood quietly for a moment, noticing a shadow on the wall near the first row of lockers.

"Hello?" he called out a little loud with a hint of impatience in his voice.

When no one replied Emmett hurried to get the rest of the soap off of him before throwing a towel around his waist and heading to the locker he'd left his street clothes in.

A single locker was opened in the line of them near the far wall and Emmett froze. He could see that his clothes had been rummaged through as they were now all over the ground and hanging out of the locker.

"Shit..." he said quietly to himself, slowing making his way toward his locker. He peered inside and started pushing thing around to see what was missing. "My jacket..."

Emmett scowled, noting his car keys had been in the pocket, and threw on the rest of his clothes before rushing out of the place toward the old man.

"Hey Hank," he said, "Who else is here? Anyone else working out?"

The old man smiled from behind a newspaper, appearing to be oblivious to whatever was going on. "Just you and me pal."

Emmett paused upon hearing a car's engine outside and hurried out the door in time to see his car being driven backwards in the opposite direction down the road.

"Hey!" he screamed aloud, taking off after his most prized possession. "Asshole! Stop!" He waved his hands and sprinted as fast as he could until the car finally stopped and threw on the brights.

Emmett huffed, breathing heavy and put a hand up. "James you're freakin' dead!" he called out.

The headlights flickered and the engine revved and for the first time Emmett took a moment to acknowledge that he was in the line of fire. Before another thought crossed his mind the car lunge forward with squealing tires and headed full speed in his direction.

Emmett backpedaled a few feet and then took off running in the opposite direction, zigzagging down the street in an attempt to get away from the car.

The driver weaved with him and finally spun the car around so he was facing Emmett again, who was now stuck between the vehicle and a small shack out behind the gym. The engine revved again and then the car headed straight for him.

Emmett had nowhere to go, he leapt in the air and felt his back his the windshield of the car. His only saving grace was that the car didn't have enough room to gain enough speed to create a fatal collision. Still, he screamed in pain and tried to hang on as the front of the car plowed through the shack, sending him flying in the air when the driver hit the brakes.

The small structure collapsed and pieces of shattered wood flew in all directions. When the dust finally settled, Emmett laid on his back in the center of the rubble and reached to his forehead which had been cut in the accident.

The car door opened and he heard a set of footsteps heading in his direction.

Emmett couldn't move. He assumed the commotion would draw some attention to the nearly deserted street. "Help me!" he screamed aloud. "Somebody! Help!" His eyes followed a pair of black, rubber boots that soon stood beside him.

A man in an long, black fisherman's slicker and hat stood above him; the hood-like nature of the hat and the high collar of the slicker kept his face a mystery.

"What do you want?" Emmett yelled up at him. He held onto his wrist in pain as he spoke.

The man didn't answer. He reached into his coat and removed a large hook, letting it dangle down toward Emmett's face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he cried, "I swear... I swear we didn't mean it."


	9. A Mystery

Esme had to stop herself from running into the hospital room where Emmett laid in a bed with bumps and bruises on his face and a cast on his arm.

When she rounded into the room she immediately noticed Carlisle and Rosalie standing at his bedside. They each looked up as she entered and she noted the concern on their faces.

"What happened?" Esme asked. She walked in, speaking quietly.

"Someone ran him over with a car last night," Rosalie explained.

" _My_ car," Emmett said angrily. He shook his head.

"And you said you didn't see his face?" Carlisle asked him.

"No!" he said loudly, "For the fortieth freakin' time I didn't see his face."

"We need to call the police," Esme told him.

"No." Emmett said calmly.

"Somebody tried to kill you last night. We _have_ to go to the police."

"No somebody did not try to kill me last night. If he wanted me dead he could have done it. He's just messing with us."

"Who is?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't know," Emmett told her, "Some guy in a slicker."

"Well that narrows it down," Carlisle said, strolling to the window to look out, "This being a little fishing village and all."

"Well since you bring it up..." he paused, "We all know you have a slicker."

Esme and Rosalie turned their gaze to Carlisle, who hesitated and stepped forward angrily.

"You are not going to throw this on me!" he shouted at Emmett.

"Stop it," Rosalie said to Emmett.

"This isn't getting us anywhere." Esme added, shaking her head. "Emmett, we need to call the police."

"I'm not going to the police and you're not either." Emmett told her.

"But look at us," Esme pleaded, "Emmett the secret is killing us. We could put an end to this and salvage some fraction of a life."

"And how do we do that Esme?" he went on, "How do we do that? There was no accident, it was murder... your words, remember? Murder."

Esme knew he was right. She didn't say anything back. What could she say?

"I say we find the asshole who's doing this and have a little one-on-one."

"What, like last night Emmett?" Carlisle asked.

"Shut up Carlisle!" he sat up in his bed and balled his good fist.

"No. He might be right," Rosalie told them. "Whoever is doing this isn't going to the police. We could find this guy, talk to him."

"How do we find him?" Emmett asked her.

"Well it has to be a friend or a family member of the guy we hit." She looked at Esme. "What was his name?"

Esme sighed and looked down. "Riley Biers."

"Right... Riley Biers." Rosalie paused, "We should look him up, and find out if he has any family nearby."

There wasn't much more to say. Emmett was getting out that afternoon after spending the night in the hospital to make sure his vital organs were alright. He hurried the three of them out room, noting his parents would probably be back soon after giving him the privacy he requested when visiting with friends.

"We have to figure something out," Esme said as she walked out of the small hospital with Rosalie and Carlisle.

"I don't think we should give up on James. " Carlisle asked. "Don't you think it could still be him?"

"I guess, Carlisle, but I don't know. "I mean I don't know if James has it in him to do that."

"Emmett told me he thought the guy might have been too big to be James," Rosalie added.

"Well, I don't think we should totally rule him out," Carlisle went on.

"Fine, then prove Emmett wrong if that's what you want." Esme said, not knowing where the passive-aggressive nature of her voice came from.

"I don't want that," Carlisle began, "What I want is for you and me-"

"Look, Carlisle, I need you to get something this is no you and me." Esme pushed through a door that lead down a flight of stairs and out to the street.

Carlisle looked defeated and shared a glance with Rosalie who stood there for a moment with him before pushing out the door after Esme.

When the two girls got into the car, Rosalie wanted to ask questions about Esme and Carlisle's relationship but she refrained.

"Are we going to look up the Biers family?" Rosalie asked instead.

Esme nodded. "We'll get on the computer at home and search."

"Your house?"

Esme nodded and nearly floored the gas pedal. When they arrived Esme smiled at her mother, who seemed to be pleased that Rosalie was with her.

"Rosalie!" Mrs. Platt greeted with a smile. "So nice to see you!"

"You too." She smiled and they shared a hug.

"Can I get you girls anything?"

"Oh, no thanks," Rosalie said. "I think we're just going to catch up a little if that's okay."

"Certainly. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks Mom," Esme said with a smile before the two of them hurried up the stairs to her bedroom.

She grabbed her laptop off the desk and the two of them plopped onto the bed.

Esme pulled up a Google search bar and typed in his name while saying it out loud. "Riley... Biers."

"This should bring up everything that mentions his name, right?" Rosalie asked.

"Yeah, it should."

They scanned the screen, scrolling down the list of links before Esme's eyes landed on one in particular. "July Fourth... wait..." She clicked on the URL and then began to read the article out loud. "Two years ago... what is this?" she paused and then continued to read. "Two years ago on July Fourth Riley Biers and his girlfriend, Didyme Volturi, were driving along the curve on Route 11 when he lost control of the vehicle and hit another head on. Didyme died on impact while the driver Riley Biers was unharmed." Esme hesitated and then looked at Rosalie. "He had Didyme tattooed on his arm. I saw it that night."

Rosalie let her jaw drop and the two girls sat in silence for a moment. The accident had occurred at the same spot that theirs had. It almost felt like a sick twist of fate.

"Oh my gosh..." Esme shook her head. She went back and found the article regarding Riley's death. She purposely skipped the first few paragraphs which spoke of his death as an accidental drowning and looked to the bottom of the article. "He is survived by his sister Melissa Biers of Marabel County."

"She lives in the sticks," Rosalie said. She stared at Esme, "What do you think?"

Esme reached for her car keys. "What do we have to lose?"


	10. The Biers House

The ride out to the Biers house felt like forever. The beach town slowly disappeared into that of a town far more rural and slightly deserted.

The road Esme and Rosalie drove on was straight and long with houses every few hundred feet or so, sometimes farther away and lots of farm land and woods.

"I wish I had my GPS," Esme said, glancing over as Rosalie read off of a piece of paper.

"Oh, wait!" she called out, looking over her shoulder. "I think that was it... back there."

Esme glanced in the rearview mirror and saw no cars coming in either direction. She decided it would be easiest just to back the car up rather than turn around. She immediately saw the start of a long dirt driveway and the name Biers was printed on the black mailbox that sat at the end of it.

"I guess we're here," she said, slowly driving her car partway down the driveway.

Rosalie stiffened up in the passenger seat and breathed in heavily as Esme killed the engine. "Why are you stopping here? I can barely make out the house."

"I figured we could say our car stalled and then play it by ear."

"Cell phones," Rosalie reminded her.

"No service."

"Gotcha."

Esme sighed and put her keys in her pocket and the two of them got out.

"You know," Rosalie said, "Jodie Foster this and a skin ripping serial killer answered the door." She sighed, "What if they're waiting for us? What if they have a gun and shoot us dead?"

"It's been a year, Rose, they could have done that already."

Esme lead way up to the old farm house that looked exactly like a serial killer might live in it. The surroundings would have been perfect - it was secluded, private and surrounded by woods on all sides. The driveway felt like it went on for miles and the next neighbor was a good quarter of a mile away.

No one would hear us scream, Esme thought.

Rosalie walked a step behind her, but quickly caught up when she felt spooked.

The two of them marched up the front steps of the door and Esme gave a loud series of knocks. When no one immediately answered, she waited patiently.

"Well, nobody's home," Rosalie said, "It was a good try."

Esme looked at Rosalie and then lead the way around the side of the house. She assumed someone was home because the big door was open and music played inside.

"Can I help you?" A woman asked as they rounded the corner.

Esme and Rosalie jumped back and Rosalie put a hand on her forehead to compose herself from the shock of nearly bumping into her.

"Oh, um..." Esme cleared her throat. "Our car stalled right down there and we can't get service. Do you think we could use your phone?"

The woman looked back at them skeptically and ran a hand through her short, messy blond hair. She didn't say anything but began to walk toward the front door.

Rosalie and Esme exchanged a glance but followed close behind.

"My name is Missy Biers," she claimed.

Esme felt her heart grow heavy as she studied the young woman's appearance. She looked tired, run down and as if she had completely let herself go. There were bags under her eyes that seemed to take up half of her face.

"The phone is in the kitchen just over here," Missy went on.

"Thank you," Esme said, and then looked at Rosalie. "Um... Jodi... would you mind going to call Triple A?"

Rosalie hesitated and caught up with Esme's white lie. "You got it... Angela."

Missy looked at the two of them for a moment and Rosalie whipped around to go into the kitchen, jumping back with a gasp as she turned directly into a long, black jacket that hung on a coat rack. She caught her breath and smiled before continuing on to use the phone.

"This is a nice, big farmhouse," Esme said, looking around. "Do you... do you live alone?"

"Yeah I do." Missy ran a hand through her messy hair. "Where are you girls from?"

"Oh, Southport," Esme informed her.

"I went to Southport High."

"Oh did you? I thought you looked familiar. What year?"

"Oh, Class of '98."

"Were class of 2003." Esme hesitated, "Your name... Biers... it sounds so familiar. I thought maybe we would have went to school together."

"Well I had a brother Riley." She looked away, "But he was younger than me... younger..."

Esme hated to ask the next question. "Well is he-"

"He's dead," Missy interrupted her before she could go on any farther, "He died... a year ago."

She had to compose herself and bit down on her lip to keep from showing emotion. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks." She put a hand on her face. "My father passed away when we were young and my mother... she didn't take too well to Riley's death so she's in a home, you know, not too far from here... things just haven't been the same since he died."

Rosalie joined them again and tiptoed back in upon hearing the nature of their conversation. "They're on there way," Rosalie informed them.

Esme nodded and looked down at a small table filled with pictures in frames. There were several of David and Missy together. She looked lively and young and happy in the photos, far different than the way she looked now.

"You know I think I remember Riley," Rosalie joined in. "He always hung around this guy, they were so close."

Esme shared a look with her friend, knowing she was making up the information.

"Who?" Missy cocked her head to the side. "I didn't know many of Riley's friends because he was about five years younger than me."

"Gosh, what was his name?" Rosalie shook her head, trying to draw an answer out of Missy. To their luck it worked.

"You know there was a guy," Missy told them. "He stopped by not too long after Riley's death... you know to pay his respects."

"Really?" Esme asked.

"Yeah..." she smiled for a moment, "Oh, gosh, he was cute and smart... just a nice, nice guy. We talked and shared a nice conversation for about two minutes. He never said anything but I think it hurt him to be around me."

"What was his name?" Rosalie asked.

"Billy."

"Billy what?"

"Blue... Billy Blue." Missy sighed and came out of the short daydream.

Esme swallowed hard. She felt as if the walls were caving in around her. For whatever reason listening Missy made her feel weak in the knees and sick to her stomach.

We ruined these poor people's lives, Esme thought.

"You know," Esme said, "We should probably go wait at the car for Triple A." Tears were beginning to develop in her eyes but she managed a a quick, "Thank you."

"Oh, no, please stay," Missy insisted, "I'll make you ladies some lemonade or there are fresh cookies in the kitchen from earlier this afternoon."

"Thank you," Rosalie said, "We appreciate everything." She gave a wave and repeated herself, "Thank you Missy."

Rosalie hurried to catch up with Esme who had begun to cry as she walked fast across the yard.

"If you girls ever are up this way again stop by!" Missy called after them with a wave from the porch. "I don't get too many knocks on my door nowadays."

Esme got into the driver's seat and dried her eyes as best as she could before Rosalie joined her.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I weaker out. I'm sorry." Esme shook her head and started up the car. A loud bang on the window made both of them jump.

"Hey! You forgot your wallet!" Missy held up Rosalie's wristlet and Esme rolled the window down to retrieve it.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Well, I see you got this car started up," Missy noticed, taking a step back.

Esme continued to try to keep her emotions in check. "Yeah the damn thing started right up."

"Funny how that happens."

Esme forced a smile and nodded before pulling the car away from the old farm house.

She glanced in the rear view mirror to see Missy standing there alone, watching them go.


	11. Message

**Here is the trailer. Let me know what you think! youtube dot com/watch?v=ZomKNjBlKWM**

Esme pulled her car up to Rosalie's house and the two of them sat in silence for a moment.

"So, what now?" Rosalie finally asked.

"Now we try to find this Billy Blue." Esme knew that he could potentially be the person behind everything that was going on.

Rosalie slowly looked over. "Maybe he wanted to die."

"What?" Esme asked.

"Riley Biers... his girlfriend was killed on July Fourth on that same road one year earlier. Maybe he blamed himself... maybe he was sitting in the road waiting for us to hit him."

"Yeah if that'll help you sleep at night." Esme refocused her attention out the front windshield and didn't look at her friend.

"What happened between us?" Rosalie asked, "We used to be best friends."

"We used to be a lot of things," Esme said quietly with a hint of regret in her voice. She continued to look away.

"I miss you."

Esme felt her throat tighten and she could see that Rosalie had shed a few tears. Neither of them said anything and then Rosalie finally clicked open the passenger door and stepped out.

She waited by the car for a second before Esme finally drove off.

Rosalie watched her go and then headed into the house. Almost immediately as she entered she heard the sounds of a baseball game and knew her father was in the kitchen with a beer watching the game on a small television he'd had set up.

She walked with her head down and crossed into the kitchen to find her father exactly where she suspected.

"Hey Dad," she said quietly, prompting a quick wave and nothing more as he focused on the ball game.

Rosalie sighed and crossed the room to grab a Diet Coke from the refrigerator. She sighed and took a long swig from the can.

At the front entrance, the door clicked open with such finesse that no one heard a thing. A man dressed in a black fisherman's coat and hat slipped quietly into the house and carefully took the stairs that lead up to the second floor.

"Goodnight," Rosalie said to her father. She got another quiet wave as she took her soda and headed down the hall and up the stairs to her bedroom.

She felt like sulking and wished she either had a little bit of wine or some ice cream to get her through the night. Between Emmett's injuries, the visit to Missy's and Esme's distant nature, she felt like curling up in a ball and never coming out of her room.

When she got there she removed her heels and threw her purse down on the bed, not suspecting the stranger that lingered just a few feet away inside of her closet.

She plopped down on her bed for a moment and then stood up as she noticed her crown from the beauty pageant the year before. It hung draped halfway on her mirror by the bureau and Rosalie reached for it as she approached it.

Flashbacks of the year before entered her mind. The night had started out so amazing and then ended so tragically that it had left all of their lives in shambles. No one was the same. Her dreams of becoming an actress fell apart at the seams. Esme had confided in her once about her grades slipping after getting a scholarship from her nearly perfect grade point average in high school. Carlisle's dreams to go to medical school in Boston hadn't gone through as planned and he and Esme had grown as far apart as she and Emmett had.

 _At least Emmett has football_ , she thought.

A hand clamped down on her shoulder and Rosalie a gasped and turned around.

"Whoa," her sister Elsa backed up a step and stared at the crown. "Is the washed-up, dried-out, has-been having a moment?"

"You can leave now," Rosalie said to her sister.

"I'm just coming to tell you that there's another inventory at the store and you'll need to be in by ten tomorrow morning."

"Dad's the boss."

"Well Dad left me in charge of the store and I want you there by ten."

"The Fourth of July parade is tomorrow. The outgoing queen has to ride on a float before the new one is crowned." She sighed, "It's tradition there's nothing I can do about it." Rosalie ran her hands through her long, blond hair and Elsa shook her head.

"You and your hair," she laughed, "It's just so pathetic."

"You can leave now," Rosalie repeated as her sister continue to mumble things under her breath as she left her room, closing the door behind her.

When she was left along she felt the heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach again and finally set the crown down. The last thing Rosalie wanted to do was go on display before the town while she relived the worst night of her life.

With that, she slid into her pajamas, closed the door and slipped under the covers.

...

Morning sun flickered in through Rosalie's bedroom and she sat up in a daze. Something wasn't right, though she couldn't figure out what it was.

Her eyes scanned the length of her room and the first thing she noticed was that the closet was wide open. As she sat up a piece of hair dropped down and landed on the bedspread in front of her.

For a moment she wasn't sure what to think, but when more pieces of hair began to fall she reached up and ran her hands through it.

Rosalie felt taunting butterflies in the pit of her stomach as hair continued to fall all around her in uneven pieces. She threw the covers off and rushed to the mirror, only to find a note written in lipstick with the words "I KNOW" scribbled across the glass.

She screamed, seeing the chopped up nature of her hair and felt petrified and invaded that someone had managed to enter her room while she slept. She smashed the glass with her fist and screamed out loud again.

Rosalie had no idea what to do, and so she crumbled to the floor and began to cry.


	12. July Fourth

Esme rushed over to Rosalie's house the second she received the phone call about what had happened the night before. She drove in silence as she tried to think about what was going on and what they could do.

 _Can the information about Billy Blue we got from Missy's even help us?_ she thought.

She turned down Rosalie's street and in the distance saw her house. Emmett's car was parked out front.

From somewhere in the car Esme heard a continual scratching noise and looked into her rear view mirror. There wasn't anything in the back seat but a beach bag and she was sure there was nothing she'd left in the trunk.

When she finally pulled the car over behind Emmett's in front of Rosalie's house she sat for a moment and listened.

 _What the heck is that noise?_ Esme thought. She listened for another few seconds and then got out of the car and walked around to the back so she stood in front of the trunk. _It's definitely coming from here._

Esme hesitated and then slipped her key into the slot to open it up and turned her hand.

The trunk popped open and Esme let out a scream when she saw James's body covered in the crabs. He wore Emmett's Letterman jacket and was white as a ghost.

She stepped back and looked around, not knowing what to do. Esme was too frightened to cry and finally had enough sense to slam the trunk shut before sprinting up to Rosalie's house.

"Emmett! Rose!" she called out as she entered, trying not to sound too hysterical in case Rosalie's parents were around.

The two of them immediately appeared at the top of the stairs, emerging from Rosalie's room.

Esme waved them down, putting a hand over her mouth as she had the urge to vomit.

"What's wrong?" Rosalie shouted back, running down the stairs a foot behind Emmett.

"It's James... his body..." she couldn't get the words out, "He's wearing your jacket Emmett."

"What?" Emmett asked, putting a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"In the trunk." Esme held her keys out for him to take and the three of them stood in the entryway for a moment.

Elsa appeared from somewhere else in the house and the three of them stood on edge, not knowing if she'd heard anything they had just said.

"What's with the hat Rosalie?" she asked. "Bad hair day?"

Rosalie pulled the hat snugger on top of her head and Emmett glared at her sister.

"Don't you have some place to be Elsa?" he asked.

"Right... right..." she put a finger over her lips, "Oh, yeah! I'm running the store alone today because someone can't be in work."

"Dad's helping you," Rosalie said quietly.

Elsa smirked, knowing it would give her a leg up with regards to her parents. "You're right... he is. Never mind, kids, enjoy the parade."

Esme had barely paid attention to the conversation at hand. All she could visualize was James's expressionless face in her trunk. He was dead; pale; cold; not coming back...

Elsa pushed passed them and headed outside down the driveway to where her car was parked.

Emmett looked out the window and when he saw that she had gone he turned back around to the two of them. "Esme..." He glanced at the keys in his hand. "What happened?"

"James's body... is in my trunk."

"He's dead?" Rosalie asked.

Esme nodded and then looked at Emmett, who stared back at her and then made his way out the front door.

The girls ran after him and Emmett took a deep breath before opening the trunk, himself.

Esme looked away and Rosalie tried to peer over Emmett's shoulder as the interior was revealed. When no one said anything, Esme looked back. Her face seemed to grow a shade whiter and she looked at her friends. James was gone, and the only thing left was a few small crabs.

"No..." she shook her head, "No... he was here damn it! And he was wearing your jacket Emmett!"

Emmett looked at her and then back into the trunk. "Maybe we should just... go back inside."

"Where's your jacket Emmett?"

He looked around and then down and back to Esme. He knew it had been stolen the night of his accident. "Where could he have gone?"

Esme shook her head and then it hit her. "He took the body... he came and he took the body!"

"Why would he do that?"

"I don't know! Why would he run you over? Why would he make coleslaw of Rosalie's hair? He's messing with us!" She could hardly breath and her voice got louder as she spoke, "We can't go to the police, not now, he's made sure of that! He's just out there and he's watching us and waiting for us!"

Before Emmett could say another word he looked down the road past Esme as another car pulled up.

"Carlisle?" Esme said aloud to no one in particular.

The car pulled up behind where they stood and Carlisle quickly emerged from the driver's side.

"Hey!" he called out, approaching them. "I've been looking everywhere for you guys. I got-"

"You're gunna die!" Emmett shouted, rushing over and throwing a punch that landed on the side of Carlisle's face before could finish his sentence.

Esme and Rosalie rushed over and fought Emmett off of him.

"Stop it Emmett!" Esme screamed, standing in between them as Rosalie pulled at Emmett's arms from behind.

"He's behind this!" Emmett shouted again.

"What?" Esme looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Wake up Esme. How many fucked up fisherman are out there?"

"Look he's after me too!" Carlisle said as Esme helped him up from the ground. He looked around at the three of them. "I got a letter."

"Oh you got a letter?" Emmett said. "I got run over... Rosalie got her hair chopped off... Esme gets a body in a trunk and you get a letter? That's balanced."

"What body?" Carlisle asked.

"Cut the shit Carlisle. You killed James..."

"James is dead?"

"What is it with you man?" Emmett went on, getting in his face. "You always wanted to be our friend, always wanted to be one of us but-"

Carlisle felt his anger get the best of him after being accused of murder and punched in the face. "Shut up Emmett!"

"Cut it out guys!" Rosalie yelled.

"This isn't getting us anywhere!" Esme added. She looked at Emmett and then back to Carlisle. "Look we have to stick together... and trust each other. We're all going through the same thing."

Emmett's body relaxed and he looked at Esme. "Fine if it's not fisher boy here then who is it?"

"We think his name is Billy Blue," Rosalie said.

Carlisle looked up at her. "How do you know that?"

"We went to Missy's," Esme told him, "Apparently a guy named Billy Blue went to visit her after Riley's death to pay his respects. We think it could be him."

The four of them shared glances and then Esme spoke up.

"Missy was class of 1998," Esme said, "And according to the obituary Riley's birth year would put him at class of 2001."

"Elsa was class of 01," Rosalie said, "She has her old yearbooks stacked in her room."

Esme nodded and Rosalie lead the way back inside the house. They piled into her bedroom as Rosalie took Elsa's junior and senior yearbooks from her room.

Esme quickly grabbed one and say on the edge of the bed next to Carlisle while Rosalie and Emmett flipped through the other.

After a minute or two Emmett pointed to a photograph. "Riley Biers senior photo."

Carlisle and Esme whipped around to look at the photo.

"That's him huh?" Carlisle asked staring a the smiling young man. "It's hard to believe that's the guy."

"Yeah his face isn't splattered all over the world dumbass," Emmett said, still holding on to some angst.

Everyone took a turn looking at the haunting photo before Emmett finally turned the page.

They resumed flipping through the pages of their respective yearbooks before Emmett sat up straight and looked at Rosalie.

"Maybe Blue isn't his real name."

Esme thought for a moment and turned to face her friend. "That's right... I mean he could have easily lied to Missy, we did."

"If we brought the year book to her..." Rosalie started.

"She could point him out," Esme finished.

"You really think this is going to help?" Carlisle asked. "I can't go out there. I have to work."

Esme turned to face him.

"I mean... high school mugshots?" He put his hands out and shrugged.

Esme didn't break eye contact with him. "I'll go," she said firmly and then looked at Rosalie, "You've got the parade today."

"Forget it," she said, "I'll go with you."

"No. You need to be there in case he shows up."

"I don't want him to show up."

Esme stood up from the bed. "This could be our chance, Rose. We could catch him." She turned to Emmett, "Go with her to the parade and don't let Rosalie out of your site. If he shows up-"

"I'll pound his ass!" Emmet said enthusiastically.

Carlisle rose from the bed. "Listen to yourselves. You sound like a bunch of vigilantes."

"What do you suggest we do?" Esme asked him.

"Let me take you out of town," Carlisld said.

"And go where?" Esme asked him more forcefully. "I've already be running and now I want my life back!" She sighed and continued. "It's July Fourth Carlisle. Okay, it's his day. Whatever he has planned is going to happen today unless we stop him."

Everyone looked at Carlisle as he stared back with a hopeless expression.

"So, what's it going to be?" Esme asked him.


	13. New Truth

Southport High School's band played their instrumental version of "You're A Grand Old Flag" as floats and people paraded through the main street in town down by the water.

On the sides families gathered, children waved and everyone simply enjoyed the warm weather and July Fourth celebrations.

Rosalie had gotten an impromptu haircut that left her hair dangling nearly perfectly down an inch or so past her chin. She sported her crown and the same dress she had worn the year before for the Croaker Queen Pageant and sat perched at the top of a tall float waving to the residents in town that had gathered around.

Emmett sat the edge of the float as it cruised down the street. He still had bruised face and cast from his accident, though dressed up a little and looked as handsome as ever. His legs dangled off the edge of the float and he glanced up over his shoulder at Rosalie, smiling as he watched her giving her best smile and 'princess-wave'.

She turned, catching his eye and smiled at him for a moment and felt her heart flutter a bit when he finally gave her a big smile back.

Emmett motioned to her crown and winked, still grinning and finally turned back around.

Rosalie smiled again to herself, and then refocused on the crowd, both playing her part and looking for someone who might appear suspicious.

Despite the heat, there were fishermen in slickers that blended in with the crowd as they took a moment off from working the boats to join in in the festivities. Some men waved and smiled; other doted their young children on their shoulders; a few shoved hot dogs and hamburgers into their mouths, or a cone of ice cream.

A number of fishermen had caught Rosalie's eye, thought none of them appeared remotely suspicious. They were out and about enjoying the day just like anybody else.

Emmett, too, looked around, keeping his head on a swivel as he glanced from side to side from his lower position on the float. A few times he did a double-take, as he thought someone might have resembled the man who ran him over, but there was nothing to go on.

"Emmett!" Rosalie's voice shouted down to him and he whipped around to face her.

She pointed at a man who stood in the background of the people by the water. He wore a slicker, and his hat covered his face. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and he stared straight ahead.

"Over there! The man by himself in the back with the slicker!"

Emmett's eyes finally found the suspicious person, like a sick game of Where's Waldo, and he took off running as the man turned and began marching away from the parade down the dock.

"Move!" Emmett shouted, pushing through the herds of people who gathered on the sides of the road. "Move it! Get out of my way!"

People gave him dirty looks, but moved aside as he rushed through, nearly climbing over people in order to get through them to the docks.

In the distance the man in the slicker paced away, walking fast. He sported the entire ensemble as the man who ran Emmett over, and suddenly it felt more personal.

Emmett ran faster, quickly catching up to the man on a more secluded part of the dock. "Hey asshole!" he shouted, tackling him to the ground from behind.

The two of them wrestled for a moment before he ripped the man's hat off and balled his fists on top of him.

"Stop!" an older balding man put his hands up defensively. "Stop! What are you doing?"

Emmett saw the fear in the man's eyes and he released him from grasp before standing up, leaving the man in shock on the ground.

"I should call the police," he mumbled, snatching his hat away from Emmett and marching away angrily with his hand over his chest.

"Where the hell is he?" Emmett said to himself, looking up and down the docks.

He ran back up the way to try to catch back up with the parade.

Rosalie still sat on her pedestal and tried arching her neck to see what had happened between Emmett and the mysterious man in the slicker.

 _I hope he's okay_ , she thought.

A building took over the side of the road to her right, and the world behind that disappeared so she could no longer see if Emmett emerged from where ever he had run off to. She continued to stare over her shoulder and in turn caught a glimpse up in the balcony of the building that was now in the way.

Rosalie felt her stomach twist in fear and anguish as a man in a slicker rose a hook menacingly in front of his face from up in the overhang. He was masked by the shadows, and no one was high enough to even pay attention to him on the third level of the floor.

She couldn't take her eyes off of the man, and there was no question that he was the man stalking the four of them. The only question remained was his true identity. Who was he?

A part of Rosalie was happy that Emmett was no longer on the float. She knew he would have darted up into the balcony after the man, even though he was sporting a weapon.

 _What does he want_? she thought. _Is that Billy Blue_?

Rosalie continued to look back until, again, the building grew out of sight. She prayed that Emmett was safe where ever he ended up.

...

Esme pulled into Missy's without a ready-made excuse and hurried out of the car with the yearbooks in hand. Like the time before, the front door was open and music played but no one was around to respond to her knocks.

She hurried toward the back yard and called out Missy's name one time, prompting the woman to exit a small shed with a bloody knife in hand.

Esme put her hand out defensively. "Missy... it's me... do you remember me?"

Missy stared straight ahead without blinking at Esme. "What are you doing here?" she placed the knife down and Esme immediately saw a turkey's carcass hanging next to the shed. She took in a deep breath to compose herself.

"Missy, um, you had mentioned the name Billy Blue the last time we were here..." She held the yearbooks out in front of her. "And I was wondering if maybe you could take a look through this yearbook and possibly point him out."

Missy looked at her skeptically. "What is this about?"

Esme sighed. "To be honest it has to do with your brother and last July Fourth."

"What about it?" Missy took a step forward and her voice got stern.

She hesitated. "What happened to your brother wasn't an accident... there's more to it than that."

"I know."

Esme felt her stomach drop. "You know what?"

"Well, he killed himself?" Missy said.

"What?"

"Yeah Riley... he went up there to die that night, that's where Didyme died the year before." She paused, "She was his girlfriend, and the town blamed him for her death."

Esme stared at her in disbelief. "How do you know if was a suicide?"

Missy took a rag and wiped off her hands before heading into the shed. "He left a note."

Esme felt her face grow hot as she waited to see the note for herself. When Missy came back outside she handed Esme a small piece of what paper.

"I had to hide this from the insurance companies because they wouldn't have give us the money if they knew it was a suicide." Missy sighed and looked away, "But the money's been spent."

Esme read the short message that was written in the same block lettering as the note she received. This one read: I WILL NEVER FORGET LAST SUMMER.

She shook her head and looked at Missy. "This... this isn't a suicide note. This is a death threat."

Missy's face twisted in anger and confusion. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Your brother didn't kill himself. I was there I saw him." The words poured out of her mouth.

Missy's face hardened slightly. "What? Where? Where did you see him?"

"Last July Fourth... He was crossing the road, we hit him, it was an accident. Whoever sent this note was there too."

"No, my brother drowned."

"He had Didyme tattooed on his arm. I saw it that night."

"Tattoo?" Missy shouted, "Riley didn't have a tattoo!"

"But Missy I saw him-"

"You didn't see anything because he never had a tattoo! Now go!" She breathed in heavily, "Go and don't come back here."

Esme froze and tried to put it all together in her mind. If Riley didn't have a tattoo then that only meant one thing.

"Oh my God..." Esme knew she had to get o her friends right away. "It wasn't your brother that we hit."


	14. The Pageant and the Balcony

**Sorry for delay in all of my stories. Someone I went to high school with passed away a week and a half ago so I've had a bit of writer's block. Starting to come back around. :) And it's a snow day.**

"He had a hook, Emmett. A great big hook." Rosalie sighed and Emmett wrapped his arms around her. The two of them stood backstage at the Croaker Queen Pageant and he kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he assured her.

Rosalie shook her head and stared at him as he released her.

"I'll be up in the balcony again," Emmett said, rubbing down her arm. "Then we'll get out of here and find Esme and Carlisle."

She nodded and then glanced toward the stage as her name was called.

"Will last year's queen Rosalie Hale please come forward to the stage, please!" a loud, male voice bellowed.

Rosalie looked at Emmett and he leaned in and gave her a kiss. "You'll be fine," he whispered, taking an extra moment with her before she headed out onto the stage and he left to go up into the empty balcony above where everyone else sat.

The lights dimmed and everyone clapped as Rosalie put on her best fake smile and waved to the crowd.

"Isn't she beautiful?" the host asked, grinning wide as he escorted her to a chair in the corner of the stage.

Rosalie said down and crossed one leg over the other, sporting the crown that would only be hers for another few hour or so. The lights shining in her direction were bright, and while it took her a moment to see, she squinted and saw Emmett's silhouette as he found a permanent spot in the balcony.

She relaxed and smiled to herself before turning her attention to the contestants that had begun to parade on stage in their bathing suits.

Flashbacks from the year before entered her mind, and she remembered feeling as carefree as the young ladies looked as they competed to be crowned the most beautiful girl in the area.

That wasn't her reality anymore. It was quite the opposite actually. The typical stresses of a nineteen year old would have been plenty to handle, never mind running somebody over with your car, throwing their body in the ocean and then being stalked by some madman for it one year later.

Rosalie tried to focus on the young girl who took over the stage, but she couldn't. All she could think about was who it was that was lurking in the shadows and where he was now. Surely he knew that her and Emmett were at the pageant. He had to.

 _Is he here now?_ she thought. _Is he in the crowd?_

The thought made her anxious until the busty blonde on stage hit a high note that didn't sound quite right. Rosalie tried to suppress a look of disapproval and keep smiling, but she felt her face slowly drop into a frown.

She glanced up toward the balcony again when the lights shifted to match the young woman's movements and she felt comfort in seeing Emmett's support. He leaned over the railing with his arms folded and rested his hand his forearms.

Rosalie wanted to get off the stage and go join him. She wished they _could_ just run away like Carlisle had suggested earlier, but she knew it wouldn't solve anything. They would come back and the man would be waiting for them; that or he would simply follow them out of town. There was no escape from the problems the four of them had created for themselves.

The balcony was dark, though in the background Rosalie saw movement. Emmett still had his arms lazily folded across the banister and didn't see to notice anything.

She squinted, trying to see if it was just her eyes playing tricks on her.

 _What is that..._ Rosalie peered into the darkness, and that's when she got the full picture. A tall, dark figure lurked just behind where Emmett stood, and it wasn't until he was throwing his arm around Emmett's neck that Rosalie saw the slicker and the hook in his hand.

"Emmett!" she shrieked, standing up out of the chair, making it fall backwards on the stage.

Everyone stopped what they were doing as Emmett was taken to the ground by the stranger. In the lighting Rosalie could only see shadows, recognizing the man's arm coming down again and again and again.

Up in the balcony there was nothing Emmett could have done. He was ambushed and taken down. The large fisherman's hook connected with his midsection, making him cry out in pain each time it pierced his body until finally he laid still and the madman scooped his body up and carried him down a back flight of stairs that led to a back door.

The host rushed over to Rosalie, who still cried frantically and pointed up into the balcony.

"Miss! What is going on!" A police officer that was monitoring the event ran up to where she stood.

"He's killing him!" she screamed.

"Who? Who's killing who?"

"Up in the balcony!"

Members of the crowd stared wildly at one another, looking in all directions as the host regained the microphone and tried to keep them under control.

"I'm sorry about that folks," he said with a laugh, and then continued to gather their attention back to the contestants.

Rosalie lead the police officer to a stairwell that she knew led upstairs from inside.

"Let me go first," he told her, reaching for his weapon while clicking on a flashlight.

She carefully made her way up a step behind him and when they got into the big square that made up the room that overlooked the place there was nothing.

He checked every corner of the place and glanced out a small window in the back before turning back to Rosalie. "There's nobody up here."

Tears decorated her cheeks, but she stood calmly. "I saw it happen. He killed Emmett."

"Who killed Emmett?" the officer asked, "And Emmett who? Who are we even talking about?"

Rosalie couldn't reply. She was full of anger, shock and fear. She didn't want to move; she couldn't move.

"Let me take you home," the man offered. "We'll call your parents, tell them you're with me and you can get a good night's sleep."

She continued to stand perfectly still, glancing around the vacant balcony area.

"Come on." The officer urged her to return to the first level before taking her back stage to get her things.

"Oh, um..." The host entered and regretfully reached a hand out. "We'll be needing the crown," he said quietly.

Rosalie stared at him for a moment and then removed the cheap headpiece from the way it was entangled in her hair before following the police officer to his cruiser, telling him only the part of the story about the fisherman who was stalking her and Emmett. She claimed she had no idea who he was or why he was harassing them but insisted he was dangerous, even filling him in about the man breaking into her house and cutting off her hair.

The officer quickly got her mother on the phone and Rosalie had a short conversation before he took off down Main Street.

She said quietly in the back seat, still crying silently as she thought about Emmett.

"So, you said he killed Emmett with a hook?"

"Yes," Rosalie replied quietly.

"Was this the same hook he used to cut your hair?"

She hardened her features for the first time and felt the anger take over. "No, he used scissors asshole!"

The officer glanced at her in the rear view mirror without acknowledging the insult. "Did you ever think that maybe Emmett is playing a prank on you?"

Rosalie sat up, feeling her temper flare. "Look there has been a murder!" she screamed, "And you're going to fry in hell if you ignore it!" Tears streaked down her face and when the officer blew off her claims again she slammed her back against the seat.

He turned his cruiser down a side road and then sighed as there was a car that had broken down on the side of the road.

"Damn it," he cursed, "I have to stop and see if this guy needs help. I'll just be a minute and then I'll get you home."

Rosalie didn't care. She could see the man hadn't taken her story seriously and watched as he got out of the car and closed the door behind him.

Paranoia took over and she watched as he approached the vehicle, which sat off to the side with its hood propped open. A man leaned over the car's engine and right away Rosalie knew something wasn't right.

"No," she whispered to herself. "No!" she screamed and sat up, slamming her hands against the gate that separated the front seat from the back. "That's him! That's him!"

The police officer turned to face her, squinting his eyes.

"That's the guy!" Rosalie continued to shout as loudly and frantically as she could. "Turn back around! Behind you! Behind you!"

He shook his head and turned in time to feel a pain shoot up into his abdomen. His eyes landed on a man in a fisherman's slicker and hat, though he could barely make out his features from beneath the facade.

When he looked down, the hook had completely disappeared in his midsection, and blood began to pour from the wound.

The menacing fisherman pulled his arm upward, sending blood from the officer's mouth. A moment later and collapsed to the pavement, and the fisherman removed the giant hook from his body.

Panic set in and Rosalie began to pull at the door handles and pound at the windows. The fisherman took his time, noting it was a police car and getting out of it was far more difficult than getting in.

Rosalie pounded at all side of the vehicle's interior and finally laid on her back, using her feet to frantically kick at the windows until one of he heels finally sent a spiderweb crack through the one on the passenger's side. Hope filled her body and survival instincts kicked in as she continued to kick away at the glass until most of it fell out and she could wriggle her tiny body through the opening.

The fisherman continued to pace toward the car, and Rosalie narrowly escaped, now running through the empty streets in her heels.

She looked over her shoulder as the stranger closed in on her.

 _He's going to kill me_ , she thought. _He's going to kill me._

Rosalie looked back over her shoulder and move as fast as she possibly could through the town green toward a series of shops. There were two with their lights still on, and the store to the left was the one her family owned - Shivers.

 _Elsa!_ Her legs moved faster and Rosalie prayed she wouldn't fall. One false move would cost her her life. She could practically feel the stalker breathing on her neck, but she knew he wasn't that close.

"Elsa!" Rosalie hollered as loud as she possibly cold. As she closed in on the store she could see her sister through the windows moving back and forth from the register, to shelves and side to side. "Elsa!" she screamed again and then felt both relief and anxiety as she approached the door, slamming both of her hands against the glass as she tried to fling open the locked door.

Elsa jumped and then took a deep breath and gave Rosalie an annoyed look when she realized it was just her sister.

"Elsa open the door!" Rosalie pleaded, continuing the slam her palms against the glass and jiggle the handle. "Elsa!"

She walked slowly toward the door, refusing the rush despite the hysterical state of her sister. "I'm coming," she said dryly.

"Hurry up Elsa!" Rosalie could practically feel the man's hand land on her shoulder and the piercing feel of the hook as it sliced through her. She grew more belligerent and slammed her hands harder, feeling a sense of horror as Elsa turned around and began walking the other way. "Elsa, what are you doing!?"

Elsa casually reached for a set of keys from the counter and fiddled with them before finding the correct one and then proceeded to open the door.

"What is going-" she began but Rosalie cut her off as she rushed inside and hurried to relock the door behind her.

"I'm being attacked!"

"You're what?" Elsa asked.

The two of them looked out the series of glass windows but no one was in the immediate area.

"Get on the phone and call the police," Rosalie ordered. When Elsa began to protest she raised her voice. "Just do what I say dammit!"

Elsa felt spooked by her sister's tone and then looked at her. "Rosalie, the back door is unlocked."


	15. The Escape

Elsa ran down a short flight of five or six stairs to the back of the store to secure the lock on the door while Rosalie picked up the phone on the wall to phone the local police.

The lower level of the store was darker than the top, with mannequins scattered about wearing different styles of clothing, each covered with a layer of plastic to preserve the fabric and to keep the outfits and dresses from getting dusty. It never felt quite as eerie as it did at that moment.

Elsa locked her eyes on the door that stood only about thirty feet away. She then glanced to her left and right at the collection of mannequins before deciding she had to do the smart thing and lock the door.

She slowly walked her way down the sinister runway before picking up the pace and rushing the last few steps until she slammed against the glass in similar fashion to the way Rosalie had.

Elsa felt her heart rate pick up and her breaths left little circles of fog on the window with each exhale. She dropped the keys once and cursed silently to herself before going in for a second try.

Her hand shook, but finally the key slid into the lock and the bolt secured the door. Elsa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again she caught a glimpse of the dresses lined in rows in the reflection of the glass, and then she saw something different. At first she wasn't sure what to make of it, but when she saw the movement of a dark figure her whole body tensed and she turned around slowly to face it.

There was no time to try making a run for it. He was already too close, hovering over her like a mountain of black. The dark slicker the covered his face and body made him all the more terrifying. Elsa had no idea who the person was beneath the coat and oversized hat, but she was certain she knew what he was there for it.

He taunted her, not moving for a moment before raising a giant metal hook in front of her face.

Elsa knew what was about to happen and she let out a loud scream before he swiped the hook forcefully across her face.

Rosalie stood upstairs waiting for her sister and froze when she heard the scream. Her eyes traveled down the staircase, and all she could see was the shadow of the ceiling fan as it whipped around the dim lighting.

"Elsa?" she choked out, taking a few steps toward the stairs.

Rosalie felt her throat tighten. "Elsa? Where are you?"

The fan abruptly shut off and Rosalie stood at the top stair looking down. "Elsa!" She had to know where her sister was, and so she took off her heels, tossed them to the side and took the steps one by one.

The room was darker than it appeared from the top floor and Elsa's keys were a step away from the back door on the ground.

"Elsa..." Rosalie nearly whispered her sister's name now and looked around the vacant lower level. Her eyes glanced up and down the rows of plastic-covered mannequins and then she focused on one in the far corner. Her eyes locked with it and she didn't move.

Rosalie knew all the doors were locked and that getting out of the place was going to be a struggle if the man who'd been chasing her was inside. She could feel his presence and prayed that Elsa was somehow alright.

The dark covered mannequin in the shadows still stood out, and Rosalie let her gut decide that she was in immediate danger. A part of her wanted to take off running after the set of keys, but that meant she would be right next to the figure she couldn't take her eyes off of. How was she going to get out of the store?

Rosalie took a deep breath and looked to the side for just a moment before locking eyes with the menacing figure again. Without another moment's pause, the plastic crinkled slightly and Rosalie screamed as the figure emerged from the plastic and charged in her direction.

She screamed and began to run back up the short stairwell.

 _Where do I run?_ Rosalie thought. She knew the front door was locked, and looked to all sides before spotting the taller staircase that lead up into the inventory room above the store's main floor.

Her legs finally moved and she ran to the taller staircase, glancing over her shoulder as the fisherman emerged from the lowest level of the store.

Rosalie screamed again and kept going, rushing up into the dusty attic-like room where boxes were piled in all corner and the only light came from the windows that overlooked a back alley.

She looked around the small square of a room and knew she was trapped. There were no doors that led to any other part of the store and she knew he was coming for her.

Panic set in and Rosalie's head whipped around before deciding on the only option she had - the window. She hurried to the farthest one in the corner and heaved it open before draping one leg out that overlooked the lonely street.

"Help!" she shouted, knowing it would probably do no good. When she glanced back inside the fisherman began his taunting waltz in her direction and that's when she knew she had to make a decision. Staying perched in the half open window would surely lead to her imminent death. The jump down to the street didn't look pleasant, but a dumpster sat maybe ten feet below and she felt it was a better option that staying; it was a livable jump.

Rosalie mustered up all the courage she had and when she felt as if the man was in an arm's length she went for it and leapt out the open window, screaming once more as her voice echoed off the empty buildings that surround them.

With a heavy thud, she felt her body land hard against a mound of cardboard boxes. Though it shook her to the core, she felt her eyes flicker open after the shock of the impact wore off and she realized she was okay.

Rosalie wanted to smile, but she knew she wasn't out of the woods yet. The man could have been just behind her. He could be landing on top of her at any moment and that could be the end. Her body sprung to life and she sat up in the dumpster, looking up toward the open window. It was empty; there was no one there.

With that, Rosalie pushed herself up from the opening, emerging from the oversized bin of garbage before hurrying away from the store back toward the center of town where she hoped to find people partying the night away after the Croaker Queen Pageant.

She knew where the crowds would be. They would be dancing, eating and drinking down at Ollie's by the water. She had to get there; she had to get to the general population to get help.

Rosalie ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the streets. She had no idea where the fisherman was, or if he was following her. She stumbled around, knowing she probably would appear a crazy mess to anyone she came across but she didn't care.

She looked to all sides; the left, the right and behind her before focusing ahead again. The streets felt foreign that night, like she was in some kind of twisted maze that would never end.

Rosalie began to cry as she ran, feeling the frustration sink in.

A series of fireworks went off in the sky and it suddenly brought her back to life. She laughed madly amidst the tears and then suddenly found a sense of direction. She ran down a quiet street between two brick buildings. In the far distance she could barely make out the water.

Hope restored. She could even hear the thumping bass of the music that played.

 _Yes!_ she thought. _I'm going to be okay._

Rosalie limped the rest of the way, beginning to feel a throbbing in her left leg but she fought it off and ignored it as her adrenaline guided her down the narrow street. She glanced to her left, noting a collection of used tires that were piled far higher than her own height. She then refocused on the fireworks and the music that played somewhere close by.

 _I'm going to make it_. Rosalie smiled and stopped for a moment, turning to look back down the dark alley where she had come from. _Where is he?_ She got lost in her thoughts for a second, and that was what cost her. When Rosalie turned back around he was there, appearing out of nowhere like a phantom of death.

Without warning, he grabbed her by the arm, wrestling her into the rows of tires as she screamed in terror trying to fight him off. When the hook made it's first mark Rosalie felt defeat sink in, and that was when she knew the fight was over. The fisherman had won. The last thought she had before it all went black was that she hoped Esme was still alive.


	16. Billy Blue

Esme's eyes scanned the screen of her laptop as she sat in her room re-reading over the articles she could find that spoke of Riley Biers.

"Didyme killed... driver Riley unharmed..." Esme's continued to read aloud. "Survived by her brother Aro... a local fisherman."

Dread hit Esme like a truck, she rose from her chair, sending it scraping across the floor.

 _Could this be him?_ she wondered, reaching for her keys. _I have to get to Rosalie._

Esme hurried out of the house, shouting to her mother that she was on her way to the Croaker Pageant, which led to a brief conversation and a promise that she wouldn't be home past midnight. Esme surprised herself at how well she managed to keep her cool and her mother seemed happy that she was at least getting out of the house rather than sitting and moping around up in her bedroom.

It was the opening she needed, and Esme quickly cruised across town to where she knew the pageant was taking place. While a collection of cars still lingered outside of the beachside place that housed the event, Esme recognized that the pageant had ended when only a handful of people were still inside.

The floors were littered with popcorn, empty soda cans and food wrappers while the last few people shared laughs and conversation.

Esme's eyes scanned the room for Rosalie and Emmett, but she didn't see them anywhere. She glanced up toward the empty balcony and hurried back stage but there was nobody.

She took a deep breath and hurried back outside, recognizing Emmett's BMW on the corner. She ran up to it, but quickly realized it was empty.

 _They have to be close by_ , Esme thought to herself. She stood in the street for a moment, and then saw Carlisle's car in a lot across the street. She glanced down the docks, and then felt a flutter of comfort run through her body as she thought of him. Despite all of the horror and the guilt of the events from the past year, Esme trusted Carlisle in ways that she trusted no one else. He had been her rock for so long, and not having him by her side for so long had been a struggle. Now, she knew she could lean on him again in hopes that they could solve the puzzle of their lives together.

Esme ran toward the water down the pier and at the very end she saw Carlisle lifting a crate from the dock to his boat. His blond hair was a mess compared to how it had looked when they'd left off at Rosalie's house and the fishing attire he sported was enough to indicate that he had been hard at work for the latter half of the day.

"Carlisle!" Relief filled her for the first time. She had to tell somebody what she had found out about Didyme's brother. Maybe Carlisle even knew Aro from the working the boats and the entire ordeal would be over. They could go find Rosalie and Emmett, tell the police and find at least safety if nothing else. On top of it, they could come to terms with the reality that they had never actually killed Riley Biers in the first place. "Carlisle!" she called out his name again and he looked up from what he was doing.

"Esme." He lifted his eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"

"We didn't kill Riley Biers," she told him, "It was somebody else on the road that night!"

Carlisle shook his head, "What are you talking about?"

Esme stood on the dock, ratting off the information she had just discovered. "I think it was Didyme's brother Aro... he's a fisherman, Carlisle."

"But they found Riley's body in the water."

"Yeah, I know but I think Aro killed Riley Biers."

Carlisle closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them as he attempted to catch up. "Wait a second..." He swallowed hard and looked at her. "You think this Aro guy killed Riley... and then we killed Aro?"

Esme knew it sounded crazy, but she also knew it was true. "Yeah, but what if he didn't die, Carlisle? What if he's still alive?"

Carlisle stared at her almost in disbelief. He paused, not breaking eye contact before replying. "This is crazy..." He shook his head and Esme nodded as she took a deep breath. He held out a hand. "Come aboard. Come inside."

She shook her head, "We have to go find Rosalie and Emmett."

"We will..." Carlisle kept his hand extended and Esme paused a moment before slipping her hand into his. They stared at each other for a moment before Esme's eyes traveled to the side of his boat. In big, blue lettering across the white paint was the name BILLY BLUE.

 _Billy Blue_... Esme's mind began to spin out of control. _That was the name of the guy who went to Riley's sister's house. Why is Carlisle..._ Her thoughts drifted and she pulled her hand away from his, making him almost wince.

Horror filled Esme's body and she now stared back at him with accusation. She could almost hear Missy's voice as she described Billy Blue

 _"He was cute and smart,"_ the woman had said, _"I felt like it hurt him to be around me..."_ The words echoed in Esme's mind now as she continued to stand frozen staring at Carlisle. She didn't want to believe it, but she why would have Billy Blue written on his boat? Why did he refuse to make the trip with her to Missy's? Esme answered her own question. It was because Missy would have recognized him... because he had already visited Missy.

Esme wanted to cry as she spoke the words. "It's you... oh my God, it's you."

Carlisle followed her gaze to the name on the side of his boat and began to shake his head. "What are you talking about?" his voice shook and there was pain in his eyes.

"Billy Blue... you... you went to Missy's." Esme felt like her world had suddenly been turned upside down. She stared at him in shock. "You're the friend. You're the fisherman."


	17. The Boat

Carlisle saw the terrified look on Esme's face and he felt panic rise in his own chest. "Wait, Esme! I can explain!"

She took off running down the dock away from him and Carlisle leapt off of his boat, running after her as fast as she could. Esme turned to look over her shoulder and saw him chasing her before another man that she hadn't seen or noticed stuck his arm out, clotheslining Carlisle so he fell hard to his back on the dock.

Esme screamed as the man knelt above him, and then called to her. "Hurry to my boat!" he called, "Is this kid after you? Go inside! We'll call the police!"

She didn't think and ran toward the boat that he pointed to, but immediately felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She'd had the talk about strangers as a child, and then again in a different manner as a teenager. Now, here she was on the boat of a strange man who happened to walk out from the wings.

Esme sighed and looked around the walls on he interior of the vessel. Photographs hung sporadically around; the first one she saw made her do a double-take. It was of Emmett; a candid shot of him walking into the gym. There was another of her and Carlisle talking closely on the dock. She knew it was the day that Emmett had scared James. There were several others, all of at least one of the four of them in the picture. There was even one of Esme's hat that was taken through the window of her car.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" the man asked. He startled her, making her jump and Esme felt her throat tightened.

"Um, yes," she admitted. "Yeah, I'm in some trouble."

"Well, that's too bad," he went on, standing casually in between Esme and the door. Her eyes traveled down to the middle-aged man's arm. The tattoo on his arm matched the one she'd seen on the road the night they committed the hit-and-run. Didyme was artistically scribbled down his arm.

Esme studied him some more. He was definitely a fisherman, she could tell my his attire and the sheer fact that he had a boat in the marina. He wore slick, black overalls and had dark hair and pale skin. He could have passed for a vampire.

"You know, it being the Fourth of July and everything," he went on, "Kids like you should be out partying... drinking... running people over... getting away with murder... things like that."

There was no other confirmation needed. Esme knew she was trapped and in danger, immediate danger. "Aro," she said in a voice just above a whisper.

He smiled and spoke almost elegantly, though anger lingered beneath the surface. "Good. I see you've been doing your homework, too." He took a step toward her and Esme ran out of the room in the small cabin of the boat toward another little room. Her eyes focused on a window she was sure she could get out of and hurried over to it.

Aro entered the room and didn't both to chase Esme out the window. He hurried to the captain's quarters and quickly got the boat going so it pulled away from the dock. He knew getting her out at sea would be a fool-proof plan to seek his revenge.

Esme tried to remain calm. She kept her breaths even and took in her surroundings as she landed on the outer deck of the boat. Her first thoughts were to find the man who had captured her - Aro. She rose to her feet and when she didn't initially see him she looked around.

 _A flare gun!_ Esme's eyes lit up and she raced across the way to a small barrel where the gun was perched and held her arm up in the air. Before she could pull the trigger the boat suddenly jolted, causing her body to slam against the side as the gun was knocked out of her hand and overboard.

Esme regained her composure after the hit and looked up to see the smiling face of Aro behind the wheel of the boat. His grin was so evil that it made her stomach turn. She knew she was in big trouble, and so she looked over her shoulder to where the shore was getting father and farther away. A speck of hope filtered through her body when she saw Carlisle get into a small motorboat.

 _I'm so sorry, Carlisle_... The thought crossed her mind but then she looked back toward where Aro had been. He was nowhere to be seen. Esme looked around and then saw a shadow beginning to emerge from the left side of the boat and so she ran to the right and hurried down through a door that led into the lower cabin of the boat where fish was stored.

As she began to close the top, she saw Aro's boots as he stalked her and reached down with a big fisherman's hook to pull at the handle from above while Esme pulled downward in a tug-of-war for her life. She screamed and felt the muscles in her arms begin to tighten and grow tired. Still, she never stopped fighting and eventually there was silence from above, a single loud _thump_ and she heard Aro's footsteps thud away.

For whatever reason it terrified her. She wasn't sure why he would go when he had the obvious advantage in strength. Esme listened intently and eyed a door across the room. The handle on it shook with each step from above and the large metal lock was unlocked. She hurried over, now hearing the footsteps thud louder as they paraded down a short flight of stairs. She struggled but managed to push the rusted, old lock across to keep the door from opening.

A moment later the handle began to move up and down and Esme turned to run back toward the overheard door she'd come in through. Adrenaline poured through her body, but there was nothing she could do to break through the door.

 _He put something on top of it_ , she realized. Esme suddenly whipped around and saw the handle twisting and turning with more ferocity and Aro's muffled threats coming through the door.

She looked around the room and in the very back there was a small, square panel with a handle. Without another thought, Esme headed for it, grabbing the handle and throwing the panel up - it lead to another room. After a quick look over her shoulder she managed to get through the small space and into a room that was filled with ice. At the very top was another way out - a door or hatch that led up to somewhere.

Esme hurried toward the ice and tried to climb up through it to reach the door but there was too much; she was sliding everywhere. Her hands rummaged through the ice and at first she felt like it would get her nowhere until the ice began to crash to the floor with frozen fish. Her arms felt like they could fall off at any minute as she never stopped, barreling through without hesitation.

Without warning, something fell toward her - something heavy, big and ultimately familiar. Esme screamed when she recognized Rosalie's half frozen body as it slid toward her in the middle of the fish. She wanted to cry, but all she could do was scream and leaned back in the middle of the ice pile to get away from the horror.

Esme shuddered when her left hand landed on something that wasn't consistent - it wasn't ice; it wasn't fish. She glanced over her shoulder and pulled her hand back immediately from where it covered Emmett's icy, lifeless face. His eyes were still open but his skin was ice cold. She could have cried, could have vomited. Esme's senses were stripped from her for a moment and her whole world felt like it could have crumbled down. Her friends were dead, and she was next.

"Esme!" The voice came from above.

Her head snapped up. She knew it wasn't Aro. The voice was familiar, and she felt that same speck of hope from before. The terror still lingered and she feared for his safety. She couldn't bear to see him in the condition of her friends.

"Carlisle!" Esme called aloud. "Carlisle! I'm down here!"


	18. Make Sure He's Really Dead

**Sorry for the delays in writing! Ahhh I wish there were more hours in the day! :)**

Esme didn't realize that the wooden-paneled ceiling above her was actually a hatch. She looked over her shoulder for a moment expecting Aro to burst into the room at any minute, but screamed when the hatch above her was lifted. The smell of fresh sea air filled her nostrils and entered her lungs. It would have been a refreshing change from the musty smell of death of fish but her senses didn't focus on the smell for long.

Esme felt her stomach churn, partially expecting to see Carlisle. When it was Aro that stood menacingly above her she felt like everything was over; as if she had lost. Esme's eyes traveled to the shiny hook in his right hand and the fear poured back into her veins. She knew it was the instrument that lead to the untimely death of her friends and hoped Carlisle hadn't yet come into contact with the mad fisherman.

"Happy Fourth of July Esme!" Aro's voice bellowed in the night. It was anything but a greeting. He was taunting her; waiting for his moment to give the final blow.

 _Does he know Carlisle is here?_ she wondered. _He must. Is Carlisle still alive?_

Esme put up her hands. Aro stood there so menacingly in the dim lighting. His silhouette was a terrifying outline of the monster that lingered inside. Esme knew that Aro was about to kill her. She looked down, barely able to move in her misplaced footing in the endless pile of ice. A part of her realized she would soon be joining Emmett and Rosalie; preserved forever in the icy grave. No one would know what happened to them.

She had nowhere to go and put her hands up defensively, wanting to call out 'please' or 'stop' but her fear prevented her from doing that; it paralyzed her in place. A moment later, something connected hard with the fisherman's face and he flew backwards away from her. It took Esme a moment to realize what had happened. There were heavy footsteps from somewhere above and she waited for what felt like hours.

Esme let her mouth drop open and screamed when Carlisle jumped down from somewhere above.

"Come on Esme." He reached a hand down toward her and his eyes pleaded with her to trust him. Esme didn't hesitate. She linked her hand with Carlisle's and he pulled her up and out of the ice box. She was about to wrap her arms around him but Carlisle was blindsided and immediately knocked down hard to the side. He cupped the side of his head as his body hit the ground.

Aro stood above him for a second before returning his attention to Esme. He reached out and grabbed her forcefully by the arm before she had time to think.

"Please, it was an accident," Esme begged him.

"I know all about accidents," he shot back more fiercely, "And let me give you some advice. When you leave a man for dead, make sure he's really dead!" Aro raised his arm high above his head and got ready to plunge the hook down toward Esme. Again, she prepared for it - death. She just prayed it would be over quickly and as painlessly as possible.

Carlisle sprung up from the ground, reaching for a low hanging rope that was attached to the sails. He looped it around Aro's wrist, who turned to react, but couldn't swing the hook forward because of the restrictions from the rope.

"Carlisle!" Esme turned Aro's attention back on her and Carlisle hurried over, reaching for a button that would send the rope and its contents upward. When he slammed his hand against it, Aro's body shot up towards the crow's nest and the tops of the sails.

The two of them watched in horror as he sent a piercing scream into the air. At the very top, the hand that was linked to the rope was severed and a moment later his body detached, plunging off the boat and into the water. Carlisle winced and Esme looked away, pushing her face into Carlisle's chest. With the sound of the splash the two of them realized that the nightmare was over. Aro was gone, they were safe and Carlisle would be able to get the boat back to the docks safely.

...

Carlisle stood on the dock with his arms wrapped around Esme. The two of them were wrapped in a blanket given to them by the police as a number of officers scanned the crime scene. She shivered and tightened her arms around him as he explained the misunderstanding from earlier in the night. Esme wanted to pour her heart out to him and apologize for not letting him explain, and for more or less accusing him of being behind everything. First, she allowed him to explain himself even though she knew he didn't need to.

"The guilt was killing me," Carlisle said softly. Esme pulled back to look him in the eye, "That's why I went to see Missy. I felt terrible about everything that had happened." He sighed and looked down. "And I wanted you back. I didn't want to lose you. I'm sorry."

Esme reached a hand up and touched his face gently.

"I love you, Esme." Carlisle swallowed hard, "Nobody gets me the way you do."

"I understand your pain." She tried to smile at him as he nodded, and then cuddled herself against the warmth of his body. Just as she closed her eyes a police officer came up to the two of them.

"I have to ask," the officer began, "Do you have any idea why this man would want you dead?"

Esme's eyes opened and she stared up at Carlisle. The two of them both looked to the officer and at the same time said, "No." The man nodded once and then Esme went on, "Did they find him; Aro?"

Before the man could answer, someone shouted from out by the water. "Hey Chief I think we have something here!"

Carlisle towed Esme by the hand toward the dock behind the policeman and the three of them glanced in the direction of a large dragging net that they had been using to try to locate Aro's body. Near the top was his hand. It was still clinging to the large fishing hook and was stuck in the netting.

"Well," the officer said turning back to the, "The rest of the body will turn up." He smiled, "They usually do."


	19. I Still Know

**One Year Later**

Esme stood in one of the many locker rooms of Duke University. She was wrapped in a towel and prepared for a quick swim before calling it a day and heading back to her off-campus apartment. She started one of the showers and wandered away for a moment while the water warmed up.

For the first time Esme's mother had bought her a cell phone and while she didn't find herself on it often it was an easy way for her to maintain contact with Carlisle, who had resumed his work on the boats in Southport. She was finally managing to smile again and had regained control of her life. Visions of Rosalie's lifeless body still often popped into her mind and she had occasional nightmares about Aro but things were progressing; she was getting better. Her grades were no longer suffering, she had taken more extra summer courses and her relationship with Carlisle was stronger than ever.

Esme pressed the phone to her ear as Carlisle asked her questions about her day and checked in to see how she was doing. A smile crossed her face when he asked what she was wearing and Esme let out a light laugh. "A towel," she responded and then grinned wider and shook her head. "Don't start with me, Carlisle." Another laugh filtered through her.

"Hey Esme there's a letter for you on your clothes!" a girl called from down the way.

"Oh, thanks Deb!" She waved and smiled and then refocused on her conversation with Carlisle. "I love you too." Esme sighed and and twisted a piece of her hair. "Okay, I can't wait to see you this weekend." She paused and repeated the phrase, "I love you," before hanging up the phone and making her way down to where her clothes were piled neatly in front of a locker.

Steam began to take over the locker room as Esme prepared to rinse off before heading to the pool. The white envelope that her friend was talking about was placed neatly on top of her folded clothes. For a moment she felt frozen. The white envelope was eerily familiar to the one that started the nightmare for all of them the year before. She swallowed hard and walked over to the piece of mail that had her name printed neatly in boxed lettering across the front. Esme didn't want to open it. She wanted to throw it away or burn it.

 _Aro is dead_ , she reminded herself. _He's gone_.

With that, she tore at the sealing of the envelope and removed the contents. Relief filtered through her limbs and she smiled and sighed. Inside was an invitation to a frat party being held that evening. Esme put one hand over her chest and leaned against the locker before grinning and placing the invitation back down onto the pile of clothes.

The shower she had started waited for her and steam had begun to fill the immediate area. Esme wandered into the room where showers were scattered about, all covered with curtains or doors. For a moment she stopped and the fog left her feeling panicky. It was difficult to see just a few feet in front of her. From somewhere in the room she felt a presence and she wasn't sure if her mind was playing tricks on her again. A part of her wanted to call out _hello_ but she refrained.

Esme's stomach sank and she turned her body around, whipping her head around in all directions to see if she could see anyone. Her eyes then focused on a glass door that led into one of the showers. She squinted through the steam and had to wrap her mind around the message written in neat, block writing on the glass.

 _It's real_ , Esme's mind told her. _I'm not imagining it this time._ She swallowed hard and almost read the words aloud. **I STILL KNOW**.

Before she could tell her feet to run a figure crash through the glass and everything went black.


End file.
